The Joker, The Beast, and The Destroyer of Worlds
by ShardsOfSilence
Summary: The memories of the Earth, an ancient power, and the stories of legend find themselves within the hands of three individuals as they slowly begin to uncover the mysteries of their extraordinary powers and their inevitable destiny
1. Begins Night

**Hello everyone! I've been toying around with this idea in my head for awhile and I guess I'm finally going to jump on it. I stopped watching Naruto a long time ago haha (I stopped like right after he first used that wind rasengan shuriken thing against the akastuki guy. I sort of just stopped watching anime after that for some odd reason. But, I did get into tokusatsu shows a lot oddly enough. I watched a lot of Super Sentai and Kamen rider and I guess that's where this idea came from.**

So, first note is that there will be some OOC. This is due to me simply being rusty in what the characters are like and the nature of how the story will develop. But I will try and keep it to a minimal. The next will only be kind of annoying for you if you are a die hard kamen rider fan and hate any sort of mis-representation of powers and characters. The powers I am borrowing WILL NOT also reflect the personality of the rider I am trying to impose on the characters. I probably will have them steal random key phrases though (WILL NOT ALWAYS BE THE SAME RIDER THEY HAVE THE POWER OF). I will also be mixing and matching a lot of stuff that didn't work in the show for simple story reasons, so try not to be anal. I'm going to take a lot of creative liberties for the sake of the story.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or any references or material I draw inspiration from

Here we go!

Chapters 1: Begins Night

Sasuke sat down on the rock in the clearing of the woods as he contemplated his future and what was to come. He was going to enter the academy tomorrow and as much as he disliked to admit it….he was definitely a little excited to be joining the majority of his clan in the ranks of ninja. He was lightly swinging his leg back and forth as he fantasized in performing amazingly and impressing those around him.

It was a rather…embarrassing thought for him.

While he didn't like to admit it, deep down, Sasuke wanted to be able to show everyone that he was skilled and had potential. While he wasn't necessarily ignored for his adolescence, he was often told about how amazing his older brother was. About his exploits and grand maneuvers that skyrocketed his ninja career in such short moments. He was happy to know his brother was so skilled, but it did give him motivation to match his prowess and a twinge of jealousy as he wanted to be seen like that as well. He heard his parents call for him and hopped off the stone and dashed back home still with thoughts on tomorrow.

"I'm home!" Sasuke announced as he entered through the doors of his home.

"Welcome back, son," his father greeted him with a curt nod as he took a sip of tea while sitting at a stood still as he waited to see if his father had anything more to say to him; his thoughts still clouded with excitement for the next day.

"Are you prepared for tomorrow Sasuke?"

Sasuke slowly nodded and a small smile found its way on his face. His father noted the small smile on his son's face and couldn't help but let a small smile find itself onto his face as well as he waved his hand to dismiss his younger child.

Sasuke wandered back outside to the training ground where he found his brother standing in the clearing with some sweat on him showing that he had just finished a session. He stood still as he waited for his brother to finally catch sight of him.

Itachi wiped some sweat off his brow as he took a look at his surroundings. Broken training dummies, weapons hitting the dead center of various targets around him. He nodded a little to himself and he was satisfied with his performance. He gathered some of his belongings he left on a tree stump before he finally noticed his brother standing off to the side. He gave a small wave of acknowledgement before speaking.

"Hello Sasuke, did you need something?"

Without missing a beat, Sasuke immediately spoke.

"I'm starting at the academy tomorrow, Itachi."

"That's nice, are you excited?"

"I want to show the world my strength and potential to be an excellent shinobi."

"Do you ever plan on answering any of my questions Sasuke?"

"I want to surpass you some day."

"Setting your goals a bit high for someone who hasn't even started aren't you?" Itachi asked with a chuckle as he finally started to see where this conversation was going.

"If I don't set my goals high, how will I ever find the motivation to put in the work?"

Itachi continued to laugh a little as he shook his head and gathered the rest of his belongings before he walked with his younger brother back to the compound.

* * *

Sasuke sat at his desk and had a slight bitter look to his face. He understood exactly why he needed to learn stuff like this but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it. He slowly began to tune out the lecture of Konoha's history that was spouting out of the mouth of his sensei at the front. Then he was shaken out of his thoughts at the words he was waiting for.

"All right students, it's time for some practical exercises!"

Sasuke quickly hopped out of his chair as he made his way outside with the rest of the students.

He stood at the ready with his shuriken in both hands waiting for the signal of his teacher. He smirked to himself as he knew he was ready for this. He had practiced this plenty of times at home and was ready to do this again without fail. His sensei clapped his hands and immediately Sasuke dashed forward and darted his eyes left and right scoping out the targets as he made his way forward. As his eyes glanced at the targets sprouting up he tossed each shuriken and made sure to land them dead center on the mark. He quickly spotted the wires on the ground and widened his step so that he would not have to break out of his dash to continue to move forward; all the while still chucking shuriken left and right.

He crossed the finish line and stopped to catch his breath and looked back to survey his handy work.

_Perfect_ he thought as he noticed not a single target had not been struck and he had not set up any of the wires on the ground. He smirked a little as he noted all the other students who were looking at him with awe at what he had just managed.

"Bravo! Amazing! That was the second best run attempt I've seen from someone your age!" his sensei praised as Sasuke slowly walked back over to him. Sasuke was happy that he had managed to do so well but was a little bitter that he was not the best.

_Oh well, can't win them all….yet_ he mused to himself as his breath was finally starting to even up after using such a large burst amount of stamina in one go. Odds are he probably wasn't going to know who this other individual was as he was most likely someone from some time ago who was a prodigy or maybe even one of the past Hokages but curiosity got the best of him.

"Who was the best sensei? Also, what did they do differently than me?"

* * *

"HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO DO THAT EXERCISE WITH YOUR EYE'S CLOSED?"

Sasuke's voice rang across the compound as he found his brother once again at the training grounds.

"Well, I was a little bit sleepy that day. When the exercise started I closed my eyes briefly and noticed how wonderful it felt so I decided to keep them closed."

Sasuke stood there with his mouth open and he couldn't quite find words to express himself.

"….Are you serious Itachi?"

"No."

Sasuke did a heavy sigh as he realized his brother was messing around with him. He felt a little bit of anger to already be behind his older brother's display of strength even at this young age. But his curiosity was overpowering his jealousy and bitterness at that moment.

"How did you do it Itachi, did you just practice and memorize everything?

"Not really, I probably practiced no more than you did."

"But…how did you know when to jump the wires or hit the targets? They don't even pop up in patterns."

"You have more senses than just your eyes, Sasuke. We may be weakened a bit without our sight but we are hardly helpless. That should be a simple idea for any Ninja or Ninja-in-training."

"Why did you even bother trying to do the practice run without your sight?"

Itachi laughed a little bit at such a question, partly also in shock too at such a seemingly dumb question.

"The same reason you practiced so hard all the time in preparation for it."

"…..That was to be better than you. You wanted to outdo…yourself?"

Itachi continued to laugh at his brother's naivety and silly questions.

"No stupid, to be the best. You shouldn't be too disappointed with yourself, even if you couldn't best me you still accomplished quite a feat for your age. You didn't expect to surpass me from the get go did you? If you did, I feel a little bit insulted."

Sasuke grumbled a little at the underhanded jab his brother threw at him. He silently and begrudgingly agreed with his brother's sentiments though. While not satisfied that he wasn't number one, he was a bit happy at his performance and current standings. He also knew what he was getting into when he promised himself to outdo his brother.

"That'll be me one day Itachi, so just you wait."

"Haha, okay kiddo, but I'm not sure humans live that long…..."

* * *

Sasuke landed with a thud as he was panting and sweating and out of breath.

"You sure you want to keep at this Sasuke? I highly doubt your odds of succeeding will increase with you in that state."

Sasuke pounded the ground with his fist in a small bout of anger as his brother successful rebuffed his attempts at striking without even moving from his starting spot.

"Damn it…..this is so difficult."

"You know, considering you wanted to surpass my kind of growth, even I'm going to say it's a bit harsh to hope to match me at the moment considering our age difference and the different in training we both have had."

"Yeah…but I had hoped to give you some sort of surprise or a small challenge at least."

"Well, I can't pursue other activities such as reading or sleeping…so I guess that's something."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. A frown of bitterness found his way onto his face despite finding a grain of humor in all of this.

"Ha ha ha Itachi, you're so funny."

"You aren't the first person to tell me that, little brother."

"I'm going to wipe that arrogant smirk off your face one day."

"Perhaps, but today is not that day….nor the next several hundred….or possibly thousand…or even-"

"Shut up and let's go home."

The two brothers walked back with a smile on their faces as they re-entered their compound and proceeded to greet their family members.

* * *

Itachi found his brother staring out into the lake sitting down at a pier.

"Something the matter Sasuke? You haven't challenged me to anything in awhile."

Sasuke laughed a little to himself as he realized the truth in his brother's words.

"Nah, I've decided to take my time. I don't need to rush, I'll get there when I get there."

"That's a pretty healthy and mature way to go about this. You surprise me, but I encourage this nonetheless."

"Hah, why are you here? Did you finish your mission already?"

"Yeah, it was rather simple recon stuff. I decided to look for you because I thought you were acting a bit differently."

Sasuke stood up and grabbed a nearby rock before skipping it into the lake watching it bounce 4 times before plunging into the watery depths. After a moment his brother mirrored his actions before also skipping the rock 20 times before it stopped. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in a rather annoyed fashion as his brother spoke with obvious laugher behind his voice.

"Just to remind you, I am at least five times better than you at this."

"Is everything a competition to you brother? You beat a little kid, I hope your proud."

"That's funny coming from the kid who use to challenge me all the time. I use to beat you all the time, trust me; there's nothing to be proud of."

Itachi patted his younger brother's head as they both shared a small laugh together on the pier.

"Did you need something else Itachi?"

"Not really, came by to check up on my midget rival to see if he was getting any stronger."

Sasuke laughed a little at his title before spouting into stories of his merits and feats at the academy as his brother proceeded to laugh and recall back to his moments and tell his younger brother how he had still bested him at that age.

Sasuke grumbled as he discovered that Itachi had indeed beaten him at almost everything when comparing his moments at the academy.

"You know brother, you could at least let me have my moment for once."

"I could, but then you might get satisfied and lose motivation to improve. Can't have that can we?"

Sasuke scowled a little as he knew his brother really just wanted to rub it in his face that he was superior. Itachi chuckled a little again as he continued to ruffle the hair of his younger sibling.

"I have something to show you Sasuke, it should make you stronger. Do you want to learn?"

Sasuke's eyes lit up as he heard these words before he nodded rapidly and turned to his brother; waiting for instruction.

"Alright, calm down. Now, this is a fire justsu….."

* * *

Itachi once again found his younger brother sitting on the edge of the pier looking out into the sunset and the lake.

"What's the matter Sasuke, you look a little down."

"We had a test at the academy today…..I didn't get the highest mark."

"Eh, don you hate that stuff? Why do you care?"

"….I didn't like it, but I was always first. I guess it just stings to know that isn't the case anymore."

"Who did better than you?"

"I don't know, some happy-go-lucky pink haired girl."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't always ace my written exams either."

"…..The teacher said you were one of the few to never miss a single question on the written exams at the academy."

Itachi sweat dropped and silently cursed at his own skills before smiling ruefully at how ridiculous that sounded.

"You can't win them all Sasuke, don't let it get you down."

"But…you could….you always could."

"Maybe, but you aren't me. You're you, so stop comparing yourself to me."

"But…I want to be like you."

"That's fine, but always remember; you want to be LIKE me, not EXACTLY me."

"What's the difference?"

"Oh, you'll find out some day. Now, let's go home. Mother and father are waiting for us."

Sasuke slowly nodded before his eyes lit up as he remembered something.

"Wait! Itachi, I do have something to show you though."

Itachi turned back around with his eyebrows raised as he displayed mild interest in what Sasuke wanted to show him. Sasuke quickly remade some similar hand seals before he took a deep breath and blew up a giant fireball across the lake that matched what Itachi had showed him several days earlier. The wind blew by as Itachi held his face of surprise at what Sasuke had accomplished before a small found itself on his face.

"Very nice Sasuke, I'm proud of you."

Sasuke smiled back at his brother before he walked to his side and began their journey back home.

"You know Sasuke…..it took me almost 2 weeks to be able to do that after father showed me."

Sasuke's mood brightened considerably in light of this new information as the two brothers journeyed their way back to the compound. Itachi made note of this and smiled to himself.

_A little white lie isn't too bad every now and then….._

* * *

Sasuke's eyes widened and he was covered in cold sweat. He wanted to move but he couldn't. Fear overtook him after he heard the screams in his household. After some time he finally managed to talk sense into himself as he got out of bed and wandered down the corridor of his house before he reached the main hall. He slid opened the door and could not believe what he saw.

His brother…standing in the middle of the bloody bodies…of his family.

Sasuke couldn't find words to express himself as his brother's eyes slowly looked at him and locked in a dead stare. After some time, his brother simply walked away and out of the compound. Sasuke finally overcame his shock and casted aside all worry before dashing aside to follow his brother. Anger and sadness were resonating in the back of his mind but above all, curiosity. He couldn't believe that his brother would do this. He finally caught up to his brother and yelled out his name causing Itachi to slowly turn around.

"WHY?...WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS ITACHI?...We…we were your family….WHY?!"

Itachi stayed silent as he stared right at his younger brother. This seemed to cause the curiosity and sadness to dissipate only to be replaced by raw anger in Sasuke. With a scream into the air Sasuke ran forward with his fists raised ready to make his brother pay. In a flash of movement he found himself being pushed back as Itachi merely lifted his palm up and parried him back before striking Sasuke's chest. Without another word, Itachi continued to walk forward leaving Sasuke behind. Sasuke cried out in frustration as he slammed the ground.

"Do you have the courage to ride with the devil?"

Sasuke's head immediately shot up as he gazed around for the new voice. He saw a shrouded figure in the shadows holding up a box. Sasuke couldn't find the words to say anything and could only manage a meager nod despite his confusion at the situation. The shrouded figure handed Sasuke a box as well as a strange device that looked like a silver bar with half a W imprinted on it in red. With that, the figured disappeared into the shadows leaving Sasuke alone. Sasuke shook himself out of his thoughts and feelings before opening the box and finding several small rectangular sticks of different colors with letters printed on them. He didn't understand what any of these were for as well as this odd contraption that was handed to him.

"It kind of looks like a belt buckle…."

With that being the only thought on this Sasuke slowly put the thing to his waist not really sure what he was expecting. Suddenly in a flash, the device released a strap on his sides and attached itself securely around his waist like a belt. Suddenly Sasuke felt a surge of confidence from somewhere that even surprised himself. He dashed forward and caught up to his brother once more.

"ITACHI!"

Itachi slowly turned around once more, but this time he had a few words.

"…..I let you go already Sasuke…what do you want?"

Sasuke figured there was no reason left anymore and he felt too filled to the brim with this seemingly odd confidence and his anger over his brother's actions. He looked down and noticed a small slot that would fit a small rectangular bar before something clicked in his head. He looked into the box and grabbed a dark purple rectangular stick with the letter J printed on it as it seemed to interest him the most. He saw a small button on it and pressed it before a loud voice filled the air.

**JOKER!**

The voice surprised even himself as he had no idea what was the come next. He took the weird purple stick and inserted it into the slot of his strange belt buckle. A sound was made that Sasuke only assumed was the sound of the device accepting the strange bar thing. He looked up and saw Itachi curiously staring at him.

"….What are you doing Sasuke?"

Without even thinking, Sasuke said the only thing that came to his mind.

"I'm….transforming…HENSHIN."

With that the same voice from before filled the air before Sasuke was surrounded by an aura of purple.

**JOKER!**

Suddenly Sasuke no longer stood there. It was a figure in all black with purple bands around his wrists and ankles as well as a purple W wave motion across his chest and around his back. On his head there were 2 large red circles resembling eyes and a large W antennae structure on his forehead.

Sasuke stood still for a moment before he felt his body filled with strange power. He wasn't sure where it came from, but he felt significantly stronger than before. He looked up at Itachi and uttered several words with his eyes blinking red for every word he spoke.

"Now Itachi….it's time to count up your crimes."

**TBC**

For KR fans, you can probably guess hes from W and he is now Kamen Rider Joker! My description of him was pretty bad, so if you're familiar with the series than I suppose you should just stick to your memory! Haha, anyhow, shoot me a review for what you think so far!

For those who haven't seen W or just don't watch Kamen Rider, this is what I was trying to describe when Sasuke transformed.  
(I can't post links apparently so just google "Kamen Rider Joker")

The weird belt thing I was trying to describe is also in that picture, it's the thing on his waste. You can't see the stick thing I was describing so here is a better picture of it.

(Same problem as above to google "gaia memory" if you're interested in seeing what it's suppose to look like)

See you next time guys!


	2. On Nine Worlds

**Hey guys! I have returned with another chapter! Even though I enjoy you guys just following or putting this story under your favorites, I really wish you would leave a review in a form of what you like and didn't like so I can adjust my writing to better fit the general majority!**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff

**Chapter 2: On Nine Worlds….**

Sakura stood in the clearing watching cherry blossoms fall from the trees as they did year round. She sighed as she ran through the day in her head. She tried to not let them get to her….but sometimes it was just too much. She smiled ruefully as she realized her troubles were much like the falling blossoms….no matter how strange that seemed.

No matter how many fell to the ground and ignored….there would eventually be replacements to go through it all over again.

Just like the words of all her peers regarding her and her forehead.

Sakura decided to stop sulking and eventually made her way back through the bustling streets of Konoha. As she strolled along the streets she eventually came to the front of a shop that put a smile on her face. It was the flower shop that her new friend's family owned.

"Ah, hello Sakura!"

The greeting had Sakura turn her head as she noticed the owner of the shop waving at her. She nervously waved back as she wasn't quite sure who this person was.

"Sorry to startle you, but Ino has told me quite a bit about you already," laughed the owner.

This sentiment shook Sakura out of her nervous self as she realized that this was probably Ino's father. A smile replaced her nervous expression from before as her wave became livelier.

"Hi Yamanaka-San! You have really pretty flowers."

"Haha, thank you. Now, what brings you here Sakura, something you need?"

"Hmmm, no thanks, I'm just passing through…"

With that, Sakura skipped off in the direction of her home.

* * *

Sakura situated herself in her room as she sat down to partake in one of her favorite past times. She held a book in her hand as she continued to think about all the remarks said at her by her peers. It wasn't so much that they were mean hateful comments as that it felt as if she was ostracized and she just didn't feel like….well, that she belonged…anywhere. She curled up into a chair as she opened the book and began to read.

She wasn't quite sure when she developed this hobby. After so long of being looked down upon by her peers she began just turning to fantasy and other novels to immerse herself in to find a world where she felt was more compelling. She enjoyed these stories of heroes and their adventure and unpredictable seeming events. Even though she supposed her life would eventually lead down such a path as a ninja, she couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with her current predicament.

_Oh well, I guess there's still time…_

With that, she began to read.

"Even in a world full only with enemies, there will always be someone you must protect…"

* * *

_I don't have a dream. But you know, I can protect dreams.  
_  
"SAKURA!"

The shout immediately shook her out of her thoughts as she dropped the book she was reading.

"Time for you to head to the academy! You don't want to be late!"

Sakura immediately glanced at the clock in her room and noted that her mother was correct. She was cutting it incredibly close. She quickly grabbed some of her belongings before dashing out of the house.

* * *

Sakura sat at the end of a long table by herself trying to ignore the pointing and snickering the other girls were huddled together doing. She sighed as she continued looking at the top of her desk waiting for class to start.

"Oh would you all just GROW UP! How can this seriously be amusing to you at ALL?!"

The shouting had Sakura look to her side as she gave a small smile at Ino telling the other girls off. Ino turned back to sakura and gave her a wide smile before looking over Sakura's attire and scowling.

"Come On! Sakura, what did I tell you? You shouldn't be ashamed of your own features; that only gives the others more reason to tease you. Show yourself proudly!"

With that, Ino took a hairclip out of her pocket and parted Sakura's hair back before holding it in place.

"Thanks I guess….but Ino, it isn't really about that. I just don't care that much about the way I look."

"Nonsense! You look amazing and you should be proud of it!"

Sakura just giggled and felt her spirits uplifted a bit as she then turned and noticed their sensei walking in for instruction.

"Alright class, I have your exams from last week up front. Come and get them!"

Without missing a beat, Sakura quickly ran up to the front and snatched her paper as the class was busy groaning at the thought or receiving back their tests. She slowly lifted the corner up and peeked at her score and then did a double take. She flipped her entire paper upward unable to believe at what she was seeing.

She got a perfect score.

"Wow, you got a perfect score? That's amazing Sakura!"

Sakura turned her head and saw Ino smiling at her before lifting her hand up for a high five as the rest of the class sat flabbergasted at the new piece of information.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she found herself at her desk alone. It was break time and Ino had been called in for some reason or another and she sat alone again as students formed groups off on the sides to chatter. The insults and the jeering wasn't really what got to her anymore these days, it was mostly just a lack of any sense or semblance of belonging in any form. She looked around her and made note of all the different groups of people around her.

Even the kids people deemed unpopular had something….they had each other.

She sat alone whenever Ino wasn't there with her.

Sakura looked to her side and took note of another kid sitting on the side of his own. He had black hair, was wearing a blue shirt with a fan symbol on the back and wearing white shorts.

_Eh, may as well make a new friend._

"Ah, hello there, my name is Haruno Saku-"

She saw a brief look of bitterness across his face as he looked at her before he quickly cut her off.

"Ah, sorry, I have to go."

Sakura sat there as the kid walked off. What did she do? She didn't ever recall even talking to him before.

_Oh well…back to square one_

* * *

Sakura sighed as she jumped and landed on her bed. Ino had mysteriously disappeared for the rest of the day and she ended up mostly sitting alone again waiting for the day to end. She felt so much more at home with her books around her. She grabbed a few and looked at the titles.

_Paradise Lost….Project G4….Missing Ace…The Seven Senki….God Speed Love…_

She groaned in frustration before casting them aside so they landed in a distorted ring around her before she decided to just get some rest.

* * *

Sakura shot up and was awoken by the sound of a crackle off in the distance. She heard distant screaming and a musty scent was in the area. She shook her head and tried to think clearly. The clock wasn't in its usual place so there wasn't really any way for her to identify how long she had been asleep. She got out of her bed and looked out the window and her eyes widened.

There were buildings on fire outside.

_What in the world is going on here?_

Sakura didn't understand, people outside were scrambling….buildings were being demolished, debris was everywhere. Were they being attacked? That didn't make much sense, there didn't seem to be any foreigners running around and there didn't really seem to be bodies oddly enough. Then she saw some strange figures running around in weird looking armor. There seemed to be one in all black and a red colored chest plate with some head helmet resembling a beetle. On another side, she saw one in all red and a grey metallic chest plate being surrounded by what appeared to be….a dragon?

After a few moments, it became clear to her that the individuals in odd armor with these strange….weapons and creatures weren't actually fighting each other…or anyone for that matter, it seemed more like they were trying to run away from something. Suddenly purple energy seared across the skies and struck several of the armored individuals down and then she saw energy form into several transparent rectangles creating a path leading up to the dragon before a purple blur flew through the rectangles and smashed into the dragon causing it to explode and kick up copious amounts of dust and smoke.

When the air was finally clearing Sakura tried to make out what the blur that flew across the sky was. A lone figured floated up amongst the smoke and bodies of the armored individuals. The figure was in armor that was a mix of colors of purple, white, black, and green. The shoulder armaments were purple but the latter half of his arms were split white and black. The eye area was a shade of dark emerald green and the body of the armor was split into 3 vertical sections. The left and right sides leading down all the way to the legs were purple whereas the middle was black and a distorted X was formed from the left shoulder to the side and the other line through the neck area and downward. The figure made eye contact with Sakura and then suddenly everything turned white.

* * *

Sakura's eyes slowly opened as she found herself once again in her own room looking at the ceiling.

_Okay…it was just a dream…nothing is being destroyed._

Sakura heard a call for her downstairs for dinner before she quickly dashed downstairs. As she situated herself at the dinner table, something clicked in her head and curiosity began to consume her.

"Hey mom."

"Yes, sweetie?"

"You know those books you got me?...Are they all fiction?"

A small silence was then met as Sakura noted that her mother's expression seemed to suggest she was contemplating something.

"Well, to a certain degree people agree they held some truth to them."

"What do you mean?"

"In the past, there were extraordinary individuals whom many claimed had strange and wondrous powers that were odd even for ninja standards. Supposedly using their powers each one managed to solve an equally odd crisis before then disappearing leaving very little traces of evidence that suggested they ever existed in the first place."

"Where does the certain degree of truth part come in, mom?"

"Well, some people say the small amounts of evidence suggest that although these individuals and crises did happen at one point, a lot of it was talked up and exaggerated by romantics. Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing….I was just curious, that's all."

With that, Sakura finished her food and returned back to her room pondering on this new knowledge she had received.

* * *

Sakura walked out of classroom alongside the mob of other kids as their day had finally finished. She felt someone tug her arm and she turned and saw Ino smiling at her.

"'Wanna come look at flowers with me out in the fields?"

Sakura smiled and nodded her head as the two raced off to the fields. As the two were crouching down looking at the flowers growing, the afternoon was starting to heat up. As the two began to perspire, they decided to take a break under a tree in the nice cool shade.

"I can get us some lemonade from home Sakura, it's not too far from here."

"Ugh, Okay Ino, but I think I'm gonna rest here while I wait."

"Haha, okay, I'll be right back!"

With that, Ino walked off and Sakura lay on the ground enjoying the coolness of the shade. Her eyes began to become droopy and she slowly drifted off.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes once again and found herself standing in the middle of wreckage and buildings on fire.

_Oh cmon…why this dream again?_

But a sudden realization shook her from her thoughts; nothing was moving around her. Everything seemed to be frozen in motion and she wasn't sure why.

"In 9 different times….9 riders were born."

Sakura's attention immediately shifted behind her as she heard the mysterious voice begin talking. There stood an individual with brown hair, dark eyes, a black dress shirt, burgundy undershirt, and black pants.

"Those 9 riders, each with their own stories, abilities, and purposes."

After that, suddenly the world phased into the darkness and Sakura found herself and this individual surrounded by strange cards with different individuals printed on them. Then it clicked in her head; these faces were those strange armored individuals she saw in her dreams earlier!

"As each rider did their job, they faded away due to odd circumstantial situations. Now, their power is fading because individuals are no longer remembering them and its disappearance threatens the fabric of humanity as it is the only thing stopping the evil from the past rising once more."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing…or anything for the matter, but this certainly didn't feel like a dream. She couldn't help but ask.

"Mister….who are you?"

"…My name is Tsukasa Kadoya, and that is the only important thing. One as attuned with the stories of legend as you are grants you the purpose of stopping this ordeal from happening."

"I'm just a child, what could I possibly do?"

"You must recreate and cause the powers to surge onto your world once more to stop darkness from taking over."

Sakura could not believe her ears. She was just a child and of young age, and here she was being handed some ridiculous task of saving the world.

"This is ridiculous, you seem to know a lot about this already. Why don't you travel around and stop this from happening? I'm just a child!"

Tsukasa seemed to stare off into the distance for a moment before the background began to change. The giant images surrounding the both of them began to swirl and suddenly disappeared in white light before a giant image appeared beneath both of them. Sakura's eyes widened as she realized this was the image of the individual she saw earlier standing above all the wreckage. Underneath his image, there stood the word in giant letters; DECADE. Tsukasa then spoke which got Sakura's attention once more.

"Take these…..and your journey shall begin."

With that, he handed Sakura 2 strange items. One which seemed like a book and the other was some weird pad thing that looked somewhat like a belt buckle. The sides of the buckle were grey but the center was white. Surrounding the center were strange symbols she didn't really understand. She hesitatingly took them and then looked up before she noticed Tsukasa was gone. She slowly put the buckle up to her waist still a little confused at what was going on. Then the sides suddenly shot out and attached itself in a ring around her waist.

Then the buckle began to glow. Sakura was panicking, she had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen to her. A bright orange and mechanical looking phoenix blasted out and flew around her. It stopped short just in front of her and stared at her for a bit. Then it suddenly start glowing and flew right back into her belt and the world slowly began to fade into white again. The last thing Sakura heard was the voice of Tsukasa suddenly echoing around her.

_Remember…creation cannot occur without destruction first…._

* * *

Sakura's eyes slowly opened again as the sound of her name being called caused her to wake up fully. The blurry world slowly focused clearly in her view and she saw Ino standing above her with a tray of lemonade. She happily took one and took a sip as its refreshing taste made her forget about the heat. Then suddenly, Ino's voice shook her from her bliss once more.

"Hey Sakura…."

"Yeah?"

"….Were you always wearing that belt?...Also, what's that in your hand?"

Sakura's eyes shot open and looked down as she suddenly also noticed it was the belt from her dream earlier. Then she looked to her side and saw the booklet from before. She opened it and inside she saw cards and she quickly took them out. Cycling through all of them she noticed they were the same cards as the giant images that she saw in her dream earlier except for one difference. They were all faded and grayed out except for one; Decade. Then a voice rang in her head which frightened her even more.

_**Hello Sakura….my name is Phoenix**_

**TBC**

With that, this brings this chapter to an end. Sorry that it wasn't quite as long as the previous one! I am actually very unhappy with the way this chapter turned out…I feel like it didn't quite capture what I wanted it to capture. But I got very annoyed and fed up and tried to force write it….hopefully it didn't turn out too bad haha. Ah, once again I am very bad with descriptions. So here are the google image searches if one is curious.

For the beetle red plated armor guy, google image search: Kamen Rider Kuuga

For the red guy but with grey metallic chest and helmet, google image search: Kamen rider Ryuki

For Decade, google image search Kamen Rider Decade

For the belt, Decadriver.

And that's it!


	3. The Ancient Magician

**Hello everybody! I am back once again with another chapter. I hope my poor visual descriptions haven't bothered you too much hahaha, it's just difficult to try and quickly describe the exact image of the stupid kamen rider stuff in short words, for me anyway! I managed to get this one so much quicker because I actually was somewhat psyched to do this chapter. It took so long for chapter 2 because I was just sort of stuck and at a loss for how I wanted to express that portion and the introduction of Sakura to the point where I just ended up brute forcing it and hoped for the best haha. Now, let's move onto the chapter that throws the spotlight on our favorite loudmouth idiot! Fans of Kamen Rider may recognize the name and can already guess who blondie will inherit the power of!**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff

Chapter 3: The Ancient Magician

Naruto sat on the swing in the park again as all the kids cleared of. It was the same thing day after day after day, he would just sit here…..alone. He would always watch the kids run back to their parents with a certain longing in his eyes as he wished for a place to belong. He sighed as he slowly pushed the swing back and forth as another day passed and the lights slowly faded away. But, that wasn't even the worst part, for some reason every adult in the village just sort of hated him. He would just walk down the street minding his own business and suddenly everyone began glaring at him.

Now, Naruto in no way prided himself in being clever in any way…..but this has always piqued his curiosity and sadness together. What could he have possibly done?...He just didn't understand….

As he strolled back to his lonely apartment, some conversing individuals caught his attention.

"Hey, look! They're all back!"

"Wow, the Hokage went with them? This must've been an important find!"

"Yeah, they said he himself personally requested to look over this mission. I wonder what it was they found."

Naruto always liked the old man, he was one of the few adults who smiled whenever they looked in his direction and it always lifted his spirits. He weaved in and out of the crowd trying to get a look at what was happening. When he finally got to the front, he ran into someone's leg and fell backwards. Naruto looked up and saw the Sandaime looking down at him with a smile on his face.

"Hello there Naruto, how are you today?"

"I'm doing okay old man, what's that you have with you guys?"

"Hmmm, just some artifacts we found in some ruins, it will probably help us in figuring stuff out."

"Wow, what kind of stuff?"

"Haha, just stuff that you probably wouldn't be interested in."

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed as Sarutobi gave a hearty laugh. Naruto then noticed something sparkle on the ground and walked over and picked it up. It was a ring that had a black square with some sort of weird face imprinted on it. It was golden but had green compound eyes.

"Hey gramps, is this…?"

Naruto turned to look up as he was asking before he realized that the Hokage was already gone and he was standing alone in the middle of the streets.

"Oh whatever, I guess I'll hang onto it."

_Maybe it'll bring me some luck…._

* * *

"Hehe, this is going to be so awesome!"

Naruto snickered to himself as he continued to dab paint in various areas and draw symbols and goofy looking signs across the mountain. He continued to maniacally laugh to himself as he pictured what his "mural" would look like to people down at the village.

"You brat! You're defacing the monument in place for our revered Hokage's!"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh even louder as the words of adults reached his ears from the roof of a nearby building. He turned around and stuck out his tongue at them.

"You only wish you had the guts to do something as crazy as this, Hah! I rule and you guys drool!"

With that, he continued on with his "artistic masterpiece" whilst occasionally looking back and making faces at the small crowd gathering below. However, a single voice did get his attention quite nicely.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE YOU MORON, GET BACK TO CLASS!"

Naruto froze at the sound of that voice and began to panic causing his suspension apparatus to shake left and right.

"Aw crap, it's Master Iruka! I'll be so screwed if I don't get out of here!"

In a move of desperation, Naruto leapt off the apparatus and dashed through the streets. He was trying to make as many turns as possible to lose his pursuers. As he was running, one of the cans of paints he had subconsciously been holding started spilling causing him to slip and ram into a wall before everything turned black.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he slowly came to and his eyes began to open and attempted to focus on his surroundings. As the world around began to clear, he noticed a single individual standing over him giving him a stern look.

_Ah Crap…_

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Naruto?"

"Yeah, wear sandals with more traction on paint."

One of the veins on Iruka's head bulged a little at that remark and he swiftly smack Naruto over the head.

"Anything…ELSE?"

"Pfft, yeah, plan a better escape route."

"Last try…"

"…..Learn to run really fast?"

A swift crack was heard echoing the room as one of the two became unconscious once more.

* * *

Naruto slowly came to….again and then noticed his current predicament; he was tied. He looked at Iruka again and noted that he still did not look very pleased.

"Tomorrow is the graduation exam and you've already failed TWICE. This is NO time for prancing around and pulling such shenanigans."

Naruto spat a little at the incoming words and gazed to the side to show his lack of interest of this piece of information.

"Whatever."

Iruka's eyes furrowed as Naruto's lack of interest irritated him and honestly made him a little bit angry. What was he going to do with this kid? He had already failed the exam twice….then he had noticed that Naruto was now attempting to sleep. To hell with being compassionate, he would punish him for insolence now and then attempt to help later.  
"Okay everyone, surprise test on the transformation spell. All you need to do is transform yourself into me."

The entire class then groaned and casted several glares at Naruto as they realized that this was literally the only probable cause for what was going to befall them. Naruto however, had other plans in his head.

_Oh I'll show him a transformation…hehehe._

Within moments, a loud shout could be heard throughout following by loud screaming from a rather irate individual.

"YOU DUMBASS, DON'T INVENT SUCH STUPID TECHNIQUES!"

* * *

Naruto grumbled as he was scrubbing and cleaning off his previous "artwork" off the monument. The sun was going to set in a little bit and he was hardly even half over. He looked up and saw Iruka still glaring at him and making sure he wasn't going to run off.

"Cmon Master Iruka…..why do I have to clean this?"

"….Are you serious?"

"I'm just some kid…this is tiring!"

"Should've crossed your mind before you started vandalizing this monument."

Naruto sighed as he took a pause and looked down at the village below. As he witnessed the streets clear out as families walked back to their respective homes he was filled with some sadness and longing.

"You don't get to leave until every bit of this is gone."

Naruto looked back at Iruka after hearing that and scowled at him.

"Whatever, it's not like anybody is waiting for me anyways."

After hearing that, Iruka's eyes softened at the realization of truth behind Naruto's words. Then slowly, the pieces began connecting in his head and he began to understand. The constant stares at distant children and their parents, the joy he found from others interacting with him after his pranks. Oh, it was all so familiar…

"Look, Naruto….when you're done, I'll buy you a bowl of ramen…okay?"

After hearing that, Naruto's eyes widened as a smile found itself on his face as he suddenly found a second wind. Before Iruka knew it, Naruto suddenly became a blur moving left and right and soap was flying in all directions as well as water.

* * *

"Talk about motivation baby!"

Iruka couldn't help but smile a little as he watched Naruto devour bowl after bowl after bowl of ramen. But despite that, curiosity did pique him a little bit.

"Of all places to do your pranks, why would you choose the Hokage monuments? Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

Naruto continued slurping his noodles before he paused for a bit. He seemed to stare off into the distance for a bit before he answered.

"Of course I do. Those who get the Hokage title are respected by the village and is also considered to be the strongest shinobi of the village."

Naruto took a small breath before casting the focus of his gaze towards a very particular face on the monument and continuing on.

"Among that group was the Fourth Hokage who was considered one of the greatest heroes after he gave his life to defeat the Kyuubi which saved the village."

Iruka slowly nodded at Naruto's summary and quick recollection of the past but still, the question had yet to be answered.

"Then why….?"

"One day, I will achieve that title of Hokage…..and I will surpass all the previous predecessors! After that, the village will have to acknowledge my strength!"

Iruka smiled after hearing of his student's great ambition. Everything made sense now, and he was slowly starting to gain some insight on the character that was the number 1 prankster of Konohagakure.

"Ah, Master Iruka, can I make one more request?"

"….What, you want more ramen?"

"No….can I borrow your forehead protector!"

"Haha, no, this protector is a sign that you have graduated and become a ninja. Perhaps you will earn one tomorrow….provided you don't do anything stupid…..again."

* * *

Naruto sat at his desk sweating bullets. He was anxious and getting incredibly nervous at the upcoming test that he would have to take if he wanted to move onward with his life and his dream.

"Alright everybody, for this exam, you are to utilize the Bunshin Justu and create 2 clones."

After hearing that Naruto's anxiety shot through the roof. He didn't understand why it was ALWAYS this year after year after year. It was so unfair, this was literally the ONE thing he just could NOT get a handle on for some damned reason. After hearing his name he slowly walked into the next room.

_Whatever, I guess I'll give it my all_"BEHOLD….PERFECT DOUBLES!"

Despite his rather bold words, Naruto had his eyes closed the entire time. When the smoke cleared, he slowly opened his eyes and peered to his side. There lay a rather discolored and poor rendition of what he looked like lying on the floor drooling. He slowly looked up at Iruka who then facepalmed.

"….You FAIL."

Naruto's world came crashing down on him as he heard those dreaded words for the 3rd time of his life. He felt tears slowly wound up in his eyes but then the assistant instructor Mizuki began speaking.

"Ah, Iruka, he did technically create a variant of a double of himself, maybe we can cut him some slack this time and let it go?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at hearing this prospect as he desperately wanted to graduate. But upon a second glance at Iruka's frustrated look he realized it was useless.

"No Mizuki, students were required to create 2 and not only did Naruto not meet the quota, his clone was fairly useless."

Naruto grit his teeth and balled his fists as he shuffled outside and found himself once again on the swings. His anger quickly dissipated and he was once again filled with sadness as he watched students get congratulated or consoled by their parents. It slowly mattered less and less that he failed and more so that he was just…alone. After some time, Naruto slowly got off the swing and dragged himself back on the path to his empty home before another voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Naruto."

"Master Mizuki?"

"Don't feel too bitter at Iruka's words. He has been a serious person ever since his parents died and he had to raise himself."

"I understand….but why does he always pick on me?"

"He probably sees a part of himself within you and wants you to become strong without a shortcut. Try to understand where he's coming from Naruto as you also have no parents."

"But I really wanted to graduate…"

"Okay, let me tell you a secret then…."

* * *

Naruto slowly dropped into the pitch blackness of the room. He began to tip toe his way around to look for his objective before the room was flooded with lights. He quickly looked behind him and noticed the Sandaime looking at him with his eyebrows raised.

"….What are you doing in my house at this hour?"

Naruto slowly began to panic as he was unsure of what to say or do at this point. Then suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head as a smirk found itself onto his face.

Moments later he left the building with a scroll on his back and a quiet chuckle.

_Hah, and Master Iruka told me it was a useless technique_

* * *

Iruka was suddenly awoken by loud knocking on his door. He quickly put on his Chuuin vest before opening the door to be greeted by Mizuki with a rather panicked look on his face.

"Iruka, it' Naruto. He's stolen the forbidden scroll as a prank. The Hokage is calling for us!"

Iruka's eyes widened as he nodded and quickly took off with Mizuki and both of them found themselves situated outside the Hokage's house with a number of other Jounin. The Hokage lifted his hands to silence everyone as they were all bickering and speaking of finally putting an end to this prankster.

"Everyone, you all know how dangerous the content of the scroll is. You must split up and quickly search around to find him. But, aside from forbidden techniques, the scroll also stores the artifacts we found several years earlier! Now, Go!"

With that, all the Jounin quickly dispersed and leapt through the air to begin their search.

* * *

_l should check the nearby woods…._

With that thought in mind, Iruka made a detour off to the side to begin his search. When he reached a clearing, he noticed Naruto sitting and using his legs to prop his arm up as he tried to regain his breath. After a few moments, Naruto looked up and also caught sight of Iruka. With a wide smile on his face he stood up and pointed at him.

"HAH, I found you, Sensei!"

Iruka facepalmed himself at such an announcement.

"No you idiot, I FOUND YOU!"

"Haha, I guess you did. But nonetheless, you've found me a bit early as I've only really managed to learn one technique."

"….What are you doing out here?"

"Nevermind that, let me show you this technique and you'll let me graduate…right?"

With this, Iruka had a raised eyebrow. What was Naruto talking about? Why on earth would he suddenly think that this would allow him to graduate? Did he even understand the magnitude of what he had done? Well, he seemed somewhat innocent so Iruka decided to probe him a bit further.

"Hey Naruto….what's that scroll you have with you?"

"The scroll? Master Mizuki told me about it and about this place too. He said if I learned a technique from within and showed you, you would let me graduate!"

Suddenly, the dots were beginning to connect for Iruka. But then he heard distant sounds of moving metal to the side and he instinctually shoved Naruto out of the way before he put his arms up to guard himself. He then grunted in pain as he found himself against a tree with several shuriken embedded in his thighs and arms.

"Hah, so I guess you actually found the idiot!"

Naruto looked around in confusion. He didn't understand what was going on. One moment he was ready to perform a technique and then suddenly Master Mizuki came and threw shurikens at Master Iruka. Mizuki then looked right at Naruto and gestured at him and sadi, "Naruto, hand the scroll over to me."

Iruka finally understood everything that was going on and he knew he had to find a way to stop this. He quickly shouted to Naruto, "NO, under NO circumstances are you to hand that over. That scroll contains forbidden techniques and secrets of the village. Mizuki lied to you to try and get you to steal it for him!"

Mizuki then barked out in laugher. "If we're going to talk about lying….perhaps another fact should be revealed tonight."

Iruka's eyes then widened…._No…he wouldn't dare!_

Naruto was still completely confused at the situation at hand, "Guys…what's going on? What secret?"

Mizuki continued to laugh as he began to explain, "The secret being that the fourth never destroyed the Kyuubi as the demon could not be slain. Instead, they had to seal the demon into a newborn child to ensure that it would successfully do away with the Kyuubi. Now, who do you think that child was?"

Naruto's eyes widened as the cogs began turning in his head….it all made sense. Why the adults suddenly glared at him…why he had no parents. He felt his spirit being crushed.

But Mizuki was relentless.

"NOBODY will EVER love you HAHAHAHAHA. Iruka is the same…HE HATES YOU AS WELL. His parents were killed by YOU, the Kyuubi!"

With that, Mizuki wound up a large shuriken on his bag and threw it right at Naruto. Naruto was feeling anger well up inside of him and he didn't notice the giant weapon flying at him until it was too late. He shut his eyes waiting for the inevitable, but it never came, and instead, a shadow was casted over him. He slowly opened his eyes and widened at what he saw.

Iruka had taken the star for him. But oddly enough…Iruka had tears in his eyes.

"I know what it was like. When my parents died, I felt the pain of loneliness and I did all I could to get everyone's attention even if it was doing stupid and idiotic stuff. I know you must've been in a lot of pain and I'm sorry I didn't do a good enough job so you wouldn't feel this way too."

Naruto felt tears well up in his eyes as he heard Iruka's confession and apology. But he still couldn't get over one thing.

"Master….do you…hate me too?"

Iruka grunted as a result of his injuries slowly setting him, but he still managed a smile out.

"No…you have done nothing wrong. You were a child who had an immense burden to carry but you are also an excellent student. You may not be a hard worker or extremely talented, but I understand you and to me you are a citizen of the Leaf."

Naruto couldn't hold back anymore as the tears spilled out of his eyes at finally finding someone who accepted him for who he was and acknowledged him.

"How very touching, but it matters not. I suppose I can kill you both now."

Despite the happiness Naruto felt, anger quickly swelled up within him as he now wanted to make Mizuki pay for what he did. As Mizuki quickly threw another large throwing star in an attempt to finish the job, Naruto quickly held onto Iruka and the scroll and rolled out of the way. In the process, an object was knocked out of the scroll. Naruto picked it up and looked at it, it was a rather strange looking thing. It looked kind of like small silver doors? But there were also these weird looking indentations on the sides suggesting stuff was put there. Mizuki's mocking laughter shook him out of his thoughts

"Haha, do you REALLY have the luxury to be staring at some antiques?"

Naruto found his anger once more but he also knew that he probably wasn't at any skill level to stop Mizuki. Then suddenly, a voice rang through his head.

_**Put on the belt...**_

Belt..? Was THAT what this thing was? Well, Naruto realized he didn't really have a plan so this was probably his best shot. He move the buckle to his waist and suddenly a strap appeared around him attaching it to him. Okay, he had done this, how was this supposed to help him?

_**Use the ring…**_**..Use the ring!**

The ring? What was this crazy voice talking about? Then he noticed something, the image on that ring he found on the ground years ago that he kept as a lucky charm was the same imprint on the gate looking things on the belt buckle. Okay, but how was he supposed to use this ring if this was what the voice was talking about? Then he noticed the indentations and quickly moved his hand over and formed a fist; pressing the ring into the indentation on the side of the belt and then he rotated his fist to turn the indentation to the side. The door looking things then swung open revealing the face of a lion inside and a voice then echoed in the woods.

**SET! OPEN!**

Then suddenly everything stood still and faded away before he found himself staring at a large amount of yellow smoke and various glowing eyes.

Then a massive creature emerged from the smoke. It was a bit mechanical looking and it had the head of a lion, the head of a falcon and dolphin on its sides forming wings and the head of a buffalo creating the underbelly and chest. Then Naruto noticed a chameleon forming its back and tail. The creature flew slowly towards him making Naruto realize just how massive this creature was.

**"I am Chimera. Uzumaki Naruto, by opening the door of that belt, we have become one.**

"Door? What are you talking about?"

**"You will receive great magic, and in exchange, will provide me with Chakra. If you fail to do so, your very life may extinguish."**

Naruto was still so confused, where was he? What was going on? Magic, for real? But all he could muster was confused gibberish. Chimera failed to noticed and continued speaking.

**"Now, defeat your enemies in my name as The Wizard, Beast!"**

With that, Chimera began to glow and he flew right into Naruto who suddenly found himself in the woods again. Naruto then noticed a golden symbol fired out of his belt and expanded to become an incredibly large shape with the same imprint on the ring in the middle. The figure passed through him and another voice echoed through the woods.

**L-I-O-N, LION!**

Suddenly Naruto had changed. He felt around himself and noted that he suddenly had armor on. He dashed over to a stream and noticed he had a sudden increase in speed. He was now in some black armor with white gloves and he had gold plated shine guards as well as a Lion's head creating half a chest plate his left side. He also had green compound eye structure just like the image on the ring.

He then exclaimed in surprise, "What is all of this?"

From the corner of his eyes he noticed a frustrated Mizuki leaping down and charging at him with kunai knife. Naruto tried to back up and lift his arm up to guard himself, but as Mizuki's attack struck his guard he realized that the attack did not faze him and one thought resonated in his head.

_I CAN DO THIS_

He dashed forward at Mizuki swinging his fists wildly but his inexperience proved to be an issue as he missed and just caused several tree trunks to be dented inward deeply. Ugh, even with this newfound power he still lacked something critical to gain an advantage. What else was this ring and belt capable of doing? As if reading his thoughts, Chimera's voice echoed in his head.

_**Look on your left area and see if you can find the ring with the Dolphin image on it; that should be at an appropriate level for you…**_

Naruto gazed on his left leg and noticed a circular strap with rings attached to them. He was also quick to notice it looked like they were all encased in stone. He quickly found the dolphin and it started to glow before the stone seemed to have melted off.

_Chimera! What do I do with this ring?_

_**Insert it in the indentation on the other side just like you did with the first ring.**_

Naruto followed his instructions and it caused another voice to yell something out.

**DOLPHI! DOL-DOL-DOL-DOL-DOLPHI**

Suddenly a blue circle appeared on his side and passed through him and then a blue mantle with the head of a dolphin was attached on his right arm.

_**This is the Dolphi mantle and it generates its power from my dolphin part. It gives you aquatic mobility as well as being the mantle that augments your speed and finesse the best.**_

Naruto noticed that Chimera was indeed correct as he ran at Mizuki again but this time, with significant bonus speed. As he leapt forward and attempted to strike at Mizuki's guard again, Naruto noticed that his movements and follow-ups to his initial punch were indeed more fluid and held a lot more grace then previously. He forced Mizuki to back up who then snarled and created 2 clones whom charged at him. Naruto quickly leapt back to give himself some room and blocked the 1st strike from one of the clones before decking it in the stomach and then he shifted his weight downward to duck under the kick of the 2nd clone. He then leapt up and spun doing a spinning outside kick to knock the 2nd clone into the 1st one and they both poofed into smoke. However, it didn't end there. Naruto's belt suddenly started glowing and it started pulling in some odd leftover blue energy from where the clones were destroyed.

As his belt absorbed the energy, Naruto felt some of his strength returned and realized this is what Chimera meant when he had said to provide him with Chakra! Chimera's voice then once again chimed in to give advice.

_**Insert the transformation ring once more and finish this fool off!**_Once again, Naruto listened to the advice and for the 3rd time, a voice was heard in the air.

**KICK STRIKE! DOLPHI MIX!**

Naruto felt a lot of energy build up in his foot as he dashed forward and jumped in the air extending his foot outward for a power kick. It collided with Mizuki and sent him flying into a tree and knocked him out. Naruto put the transformation ring back in and rotated it in the opposite direction and with a flash his armor and power disappeared and the gates on the buckle closed. He looked over at Mizuki and sheepishly put his arm over his head.

"Hehe….I guess I kind of overdid it."

Iruka was still in shock at what happened, what had Naruto done?

"Naruto….what…was all of that?"

"To be honest Sensei, I'm not so sure myself. I have a lot of questions to ask the old man."

Iruka's shock slowly turned into a smile as an idea crept into his mind.

"Hey Naruto, close your eyes I have a present for you."

Naruto closed his eyes and waited for a moment before reopening them as he realized Iruka had tied something around his forehead.

"Congratulations…graduate!"

**TBC**

WHEW, that covers the 3 introductions of the characters. I didn't realize Naruto's would take so freaking long. His was by far the easiest though as I ended up just using the source material a lot as opposed to just make shit up with Sakura and Sasuke haha. Sorry if the fight with Mizuki was kind of lame haha, I wanted to mostly showcase how Naruto's powers worked and the book doesn't really show anything other than 1000 clones beating his ass so there wasn't much to go by. But now, after this we FINALLY get the show on the road!

As usual, to see what Naruto looks like post transformation google image search Kamen Rider Beast and to see the belt, search Beast Driver.

Also my first reviewer!

Docjay: Thanks for the review! I actually never thought of connect Naruto and Decade like that, haha very cool. Unique viewpoint too. But Naruto ends up as Beast for a very specific reason. As for why I chose Joker/W for Sasuke and Sakura as Decade, the way I want to write the story out and characterize them fits better with their personality in my opinion. (Remember! Sakura is not meant to be like Tsukasa and Sasuke will not be like Shotaro/Philip. I would say Naruto won't be modeled after Kosuke but they sort of do match in a way so that's just a coincidence.)


	4. Enemy of my enemy is my comrade

**Hi guys, I'm back with another chapter. I actually didn't get stuck on this chapter, I just lost motivation for several days and before I knew it, a week had gone by since the last update so I decided to get back on track! The story from here will be more or less a rehash on what actually happens; just some adjustments based on abilities + character personalities.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

**Chapter 4: Enemy of my enemy is my comrade**

Naruto couldn't help but continue to let his smile grow incredibly wide as he sat at the long desk at the academy sporting his new forehead protector that once belonged to his previous Master, Iruka.

"What're you doing here Naruto? Today's class is for students who didn't fail."

Naruto was shook out of his thoughts as he looked up to who was speaking to him and took note of the pineapple head shape of the individual.

"Cmon Shikamaru! Can't you see the headband?"

Naruto gestured at his forehead with his thumb still holding onto his abnormally large grin. Shikamaru then slowly shook his head as he walked off mumbling to himself. Naruto sat up straight upon noticing Iruka was standing near the front of the class.

"Alright graduates, now that you have moved on from the academy, you will now be operating in 3 man cells overseen by a Jounin instructor."

Naruto couldn't help but ponder over this a little more, three people cells? While he didn't really have a beef with any of the other kids, he never really ever had to work with anyone else.

_Ah whatever, I'm sure it'll come easy to me after some time._

"Team Seven; Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your instructor will be Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto looked to his side upon hearing this and noticed that his teammates were conveniently sitting along the table as he was. He racked his head trying to think of what his teammates were like.

_Hmmmm Sakura is kind of brainy and likes to read books and she usually scores pretty high on written stuff I think. Sasuke kind of just broods around…stupid guy thinks he's all cool and so good. But I guess he technically does do pretty well on physical stuff._

His teammates were also staring at each other trying to get a feel for what their future dynamic would be like. Yet, Sasuke and Sakura had much more similar thoughts as opposed to Naruto

_A quiet kid and the troublemaker….great_

* * *

"Man, where IS this guy?"

"Naruto….will you just sit down and WAIT?"

Naruto stopped constantly looking out at the hallway and turned back after seeing Sakura's vein bulging out on her head out of annoyance.

"Every teacher has arrived and taken their cell already, even Master Iruka has left. Why are we still the only ones here?"

Although Sasuke didn't feel like speaking much, he did grunt in agreement with Naruto as he was also quite tired with waiting for this instructor. Sakura sighed as she too was feeling a bit antsy, but she was also tired of seeing Naruto dart around the room constantly shuffling around and looking outside. Naruto crossed his arms and thought to himself before smirking and grabbing a chair near the door.

"Naruto….what're you doing now?"

Naruto turned back to Sakura with a smirk before putting an eraser at the top of the door and closing the sliding enough to suspend the eraser in the air.

"It's what he gets for making us wait so long."

Naruto snickered to himself as he leapt off his chair and sat down still chuckling to himself. After a period of time, the trio saw a hand snake around the sliding door and begin to pull. A masked silver-haired individual stepped in and an eraser fell on his head.

"HAHAHAHHAA GET WRECKED!"

"I'm so sorry master….I tried to stop him.."

The silver-haired individual put his hands up to his chin as if contemplating a thought.

"My first impression is…I think you're all idiots."

* * *

The trio stood in the clearing with their new instructor waiting for directions or any semblance of guidance. After some time, he finally spoke to them.

"Alright then, I suppose the first thing to do would be to introduce ourselves to each other seeing as how we're a team; the usual, likes, dislikes, dreams, and I guess hobbies."

Sakura raised an eyebrow towards this notion and proposed something herself.

"How about you start, Sensei? We don't know anything about you and you could show us how it's done.'

"Hmmm alright, my name is Hatake Kakashi and I like…stuff. I also dislike….things. My dreams are none of your business and I have a lot of hobbies."

Upon hearing this the members of Team 7 palmed their faces as a single thought resonated amongst the three.

_All we learned was this guy name_

"Well, that was it for me. Now it's your turn; you're up blondie."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and what I enjoy is eating ramen, magic, and being treated out to food by Master Iruka. I dislike how long it takes for ramen to be made. I don't really have any special hobbies. My dream is to become Hokage and surpass all those before me!"

"Ramen and magic eh? Well, how about you pinkie?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura and I like reading books. I dislike loud annoyances and interruptions. Aren't hobbies and likes kind of the same thing? Hmmm….I haven't really decided on a dream yet either."

"Okay…indecisive lady, and now all that's left is you, silent one."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I enjoy training and getting stronger. I don't have much to say for likes and dislikes, they seem trivial. Yeah, aren't hobbies and likes kind of the same..? For ambitions, there is someone I would like to kill."

Kakashi was silent for a moment as he thought about all the information his students had given him.

_Loud boy, annoyed girl, silent guy…..well I COULD have ended up with a worse kind of team…although nothing else comes to mind…_

"Alright gang, the first thing for me to mention to you is that tomorrow, you take the genin exam. You see, the academy selects those they believe to be ready and we Jounin verify it with another test. Oh by the way, this test has a failure rate of 66%. Good luck and see you all at 7AM! Oh and Naruto, the Hokage needs to you redo something…..I think it was about a picture?"

With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving the trio with their eyes wide and sweating with nervousness and anxiety as they walked to their respective destinations.

* * *

_66% failure rate huh? Whatever, I've come too far to fail now, I know I have the potential to overcome this_

Sasuke continued to ponder on this test as he lay down on his bed. He had finished his usual exercises and felt no need to overburden himself as he highly doubted he was going to grow a considerable amount in one night and did not want to risk soreness tomorrow.

_**You don't even know the nature of the test yet Sasuke, raw strength might not be a factor.**_

Sasuke realized that was actually true. Kakashi had never actually specified what they were going to be tested on tomorrow. But he found it high unlikely that he was going to be giving a really hard written exam; that just seemed silly.

_What other exam could it be other than to test our physical abilities, Dragon? Nothing else seems more fitting than that in order to qualify us as true ninjas._

_**Perhaps, but it could be a physical exam with various parameters and conditions in order to specifically test you on things such as espionage or strategic planning.**_

_Hmmmm, I suppose that could also be possible. But regardless, I have you right? That should give me an edge, I don't think he would expect anyone to have a power quite like ours._

_**As true as that may be Sasuke, don't become too overconfident, it could be potentially be your downfall. Also, don't forget the nature of our bond; you do not have full access to my power, just a mere fraction that your body can handle.**_

Sasuke closed his eyes at these words; he doubt he would ever forget.

_Flashback_

"Now Itachi…..it's time to count up your crimes!"

Sasuke sprinted forward at his brother as he felt power flood through his body. He threw a punch but Itachi quickly stepped back and caught his fist before attempting for a side kick. Sasuke ducked under and attempted a sweep but his brother immediately dropped to his other foot and did a roundhouse kick to send him back. Sasuke got back onto his feet and let out a cry of frustration before he dashed at his brother again and tried for a for an outside roundhouse kick. Sasuke got angrier and angrier as his brother continued to dodge all his attacks and parry before striking Sasuke back causing the weird stick thing to eject out of his belt buckle cancelling his transformation.

"You might have gotten stronger with that change Sasuke, but you are still unable to compete with me even with your added power."

Sasuke grit his teeth but knew his brother was correct. Even if he had a feel for combat and could somewhat see what Itachi was doing, he wasn't fast enough to react or strike properly to capitalize on it. He needed to become even stronger, but how could he achieve that right now? He looked back to his side and grabbed another stick thing embossed with the letter F and inserted it into his belt buckle.

_**FANG!**_

_Sasuke instantly felt a surge of power that was greater than the previous one and stood up ready to go another round with his brother. Then he began to panic a little as he realized the power was still surging within him and he was starting to have trouble controlling it. The stick he just inserted in began to glow and the power continued to swell up within him and he started to feel pain. With a scream, Sasuke fell to the ground and lost consciousness._

* * *

When he regained his senses, Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around to note that he was still in the same place and that Itachi was missing. He looked down at his belt buckle and noticed that the stick was gone but the Joker one was still at his side. He felt a little strange as he could not recall anything at all, had Itachi stolen it? If so, why was everything else still left here? Then a voice in his mind startled him.

_**Hello child, I am Dragon. Your body could not handle the power of my Gaia memory and when you lost consciousness the Lost Driver attempted to eject the Fang memory out but much of the power still rested within you and eventually I reformed within you.**_

_End Flashback_

_**You are still not strong enough to handle the Fang memory yet, so please don't count on that as a backup plan.**_

Sasuke thought back to the moment when he first inserted that memory in and shuddered as he recalled the intense power he felt flow through his body before he spiraled out of control.

_I know…_

* * *

Sakura was trying to continue off from her book but she kept getting distracted with random thoughts.

_**Are you still worried about the test tomorrow, Sakura?**_

_Yeah kind of, it would suck a lot of I just couldn't become a ninja after all those years at the academy. But I guess I should focus more on calming down rather than be psyched out by all of this._

_**I think it should be okay, you have access to some of my power as well so I am willing to help in any way I can**_

_Thanks Phoenix, but I'm not even sure what this test is. Maybe I'll luck out and it'll be something I happen to be really good at._

_**Regardless, you have learned to control two standard forms that have fairly flexible skills; you should be fine.**_

_I sure hope so…._

* * *

Naruto was incredibly annoyed at the fact he had to redo this. So what if his first photo had random tattoos and pale skin? Did it REALLY matter? He grumbled to himself before one of the sliding doors opened and a little kid in a giant scarf dashed in through.

"ON GUARD OLD MAN!"

Along with his battle cry, the kid immediately tripped and fell over.

"Owww, you had a trap planned for me?!"

"Ah, no traps planned for you here honored grandson!"

Naruto looked up to the new voice and saw a rather slim and tall individual in all black wearing small shades. His attention was caught by the little kid again as he had finally gotten up and started pointing a finger at him.

"YOU TRIPPED ME, DIDN'T YOU?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the kid's stupidity. Was he for real? This moron ran around in a scarf that was like 10 miles in length and goes around accusing people of tripping him? What kind of honored grandson was this? He grabbed the collar of the kid and screamed right back at him.

"YOU TRIPPED OVER YOURSELF YOU MORON!"

"Unhand him! That is the grandson of our current Hokage!"

Naruto's eyebrow was raised as the weird guy in the sunglasses relayed this piece of information to him. He looked back at the kid's face which had annoyingly turned into a smirk before he let go of the kid only to smack him over the head.

"LIKE I GIVE A DAMN!"

With that, Naruto strolled outside muttering to himself about stupid kids and needing ramen

* * *

"Dude, you know, no rock is a perfect shape like that with that corners and all, right? And the eye holes are kind of a dead giveaway."

Naruto sweat dropped at the poorly painted cardboard box with eyeholes that had been following him for a bit. The box flipped over and revealed the tiny kid from before who began dusting himself off. Naruto was rather curious now, why was this kid following him?

"What do you want kid, I don't have time to mess around."

"I want to be your student."

"…What?"

"I heard you mastered some weird technique that beat my grandpa in an instant!"

"….Why's that matter to you?"

"I want to be Hokage, so what better place to start than by beating my grandpa and proving myself to everyone!"

"….You want to be Hokage? Why?"

"I was named Konohamaru, after this village, as it is supposedly good fortune. But nobody ever calls me that, it's always honored grandson or something else and I'm sick of it. When I become Hokage, everyone will finally respect me and call me by my true name and who I am."

Naruto laughed a little at this revelation. Which caught Konohamaru's attention whom scowled a little at being laughed at.

"What's so funny?"

"You're a big whining baby who isn't getting what he wants so he's trying to scramble around clinging onto anything."

Konohamaru narrowed his eyes as he felt his anger boil a little, how dare this random kid talk down to him.

"Being Hokage means garnering the respect of every individual as they acknowledge your competency in strength and ability to lead and them placing their trust in you. I too, have the dream to become Hokage. Even the closest person to me right now, was almost impossible to win over, and he's just one person."

Konohamaru's eyes widened as he realized Naruto's words. He also wanted to be Hokage? But that would mean that….

"That's far enough! I will not let you lead the honored grandson on with your nonsense."

Naruto looked upward to see the same individual as before standing on a tree overlooking them.

"….Who are you?"

"I am Ebisu, an elite jounin who guides and teaches individuals and journeyman who show high amounts of potential. Now, honored grandson, if you want to become Hokage then I suggest returning back to me as it will yield itself as the greatest shortcut."

With that, Ebisu began tugging at Konohamaru's scarf as Konohamaru began struggling to not budge an inch.

"Grrr if you lower yourself to individuals such as this, honored grandson, you will not be able to achieve your dream."

Naruto rolled his eyes at this before he put a ring with small silver doors embossed on it on his ring finger before placing it over his waist where his belt was.

**DRIVER ON!**

Konohamaru and Ebisu stopped struggling as the random voice echoed into the clearing as they noticed a weird buckle form over Naruto's waist. Naruto reached for another ring before he thought for a second.

"Nah, I don't even need that against you."

With that, he formed his hand into a simple cross symbol.

"Kage Bunshin No Justsu!"

With that, a large cloud of smoke popped and then Naruto had split himself into about a dozen of himself. Ebisu smirked at this before he got into a simple fighting stance. Did this brat really thing such a technique would work on him? He was miles ahead of that traitor Mizuki.

* * *

The Sandaime facepalmed himself a little as he witnessed what came next. He probably would have fell for it too…

* * *

The clones disappeared as Naruto and Konohamaru were the only 2 left standing as Ebisu was unconscious after a loss of blood via his nose. Naruto turned back to Konohamaru and called his name out to get his attention.

"So did you understand what I meant before Konohamaru? It means there are no shortcuts. Maybe we'll fight for the title of Hokage one day."

With that, Naruto walked off and waved above his head to gesture his leave leaving Konohamaru a bit stunned still staring at his back. Konohamaru then saluted Naruto as he walked away.

* * *

"I swear to god, if this becomes a common occurrence…."

Sakura stopped her death threats and cursing as a puff of smoke appeared and Kakashi was suddenly in front of them. The trio then glared at him before screaming at him all in sync.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"Sorry sorry, I was too busy with….….not being early."

The trio were about to scream at him being a liar before they sweatdropped and then glared at him…..TECHNICALLY he wasn't really lying…

"Anyhow, this is the exam. I have 2 bells here and a timer set to go off at noon. If you can get a bell from me before the timer goes off then you become a genin; if not, then you'll fail and repeat your final year at the academy. Since there are only 2 bells, one of you will definitely fail. Any questions?"

The trio were taken back at this sudden news a bit of the anxiety and nervousness started to creep back into their bodies.

"Oh, also, you better come at me with the intent to kill or you won't make it."

Sakura immediately snapped her head up at this; that was a ridiculous request!

"Sensei, that's so dangerous though! What if someone ends up hurt…or dead?!"

"Haha, you couldn't even dodge an eraser, you're gonna get yourself killed!" Piped in Naruto

Kakashi sighed and then smiled with his eyes…somehow.

"Let's ignore the dunce and prepare ourselves."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this and growled. He did not enjoy others talking down on him like that. He reached into his shuriken holster and pulled out a kunai knife before aiming it at Kakashi. Before he knew it Kakashi was behind him and was bending his arm holding his own knife to his head. The three were speechless and a bit shocked such a display of speed.

"I haven't said go yet….but you came at me with the intent to kill. Perhaps I'll find myself liking you three….now GO!"

A smirk appeared on the three of their faces as they leapt off.

* * *

Kakashi wandered through the clearing until he arrived at a nearby river.

_Hmmm, they're all hidden well. I suppose that's a pretty good thing considering their age and supposed skill._

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GO! MANO-E-MANO KAKASHI-SENSEI!

Kakashi sweatdropped at this as he suddenly decided to retract his previous thought after seeing Naruto stand there in the middle of the open field.

"For a ninja, you're a bit….strange."

"The only thing here is your hairstyle!"

With that, Naruto dashed forward readying a punch until he noticed that Kakashi was reaching back into his pouch.

"Let me teach you the first lesson of ninjas….taijutsu, hand to hand combat…."

Naruto then looked curiously at him. If he wanted to teach hand to hand combat, why was he reaching for a weapon? Then his jaw dropped as he noticed that Kakashi had taken out a book to read.

"…You're reading a book?"

"Of course, I'm excited to see what happens next. Go ahead and do your thing, this shouldn't make a difference either way."

Naruto saw all red as he screamed and ran at Kakashi with his fist ready. He leapt forward and punched only to have his fist meet Kakashi's palm. Naruto then spun around and aimed a kick at Kakashi's head only for him to duck and continue reading. With a frustrated scream, Naruto attempt to punch again only to meet the air and he noticed Kakashi was behind him.

"You know, you REALLY shouldn't show your back that much, it's not a very good habit as a shinobi. Oh well, this is your punishment. Leaf village secret technique: A thousand years of pain!"

Naruto screamed out in pain as Kakashi's finger did a poke of death against his butt and he fell into the river. He couldn't let it end this way, not after trying so hard against Mizuki! He formed a familiar cross symbol with his hands.

Kakashi turned around and continued to read until he noticed Naruto climbing out of the river coughing up water.

"For a future Hokage, you sure have rather poor fighting habits….such as…getting hit."

"Stupid sensei…I'll make you eat those words!"

After his bold statement, several clones flew out of the river and landed alongside him before taking off in a dash against him.

_Hmm…Shadow Clones, I suppose he learned that from the Scroll during that one incident. With his poor control though, he can't hold it for more than a minute I would assume_

Suddenly Kakashi found himself with a huge weight on his back that held his arms and legs in place as the rest of the clones began grabbing various parts of him.

"Hehe….nice to see your back..master! I sent one of my clones out posing as me! I figured if you were stupid enough to get hit by an eraser, you're probably not bright enough to figure this one out!"

As one of the clones closed in for a punch, one of the Narutos suddenly felt a surging pain in his cheek as he realized that the clone actually punched him. As the dust cleared they all looked at each other in confusion before claiming that one of them was Kakashi in a henge. Kakashi stood off in the distance behind some shrubs laughing to himself before his eyes widened at all the Narutos disappearing in a puff of smoke. Where was the real one?

"Give me a LITTLE bit of credit Kakashi…."

Kakashi turned around to see the real Naruto standing behind him looking at him.

"Hmmm, perhaps you're not AS bad as I thought you were…."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he really wanted to just beat the crap out of this smug bastard.

"Fine….No more games!"

With that, Naruto reached for the same ring with the doors as before as he put it over his waist.

**DRIVER ON!**

Kakashi's eyebrows were raised as an odd buckle suddenly sprouted where Naruto's hand was. What was this kid doing? Naruto reached for another ring and inserted it into the driver and rotated it forward.

**SET! OPEN!**

A golden circular symbol appeared in front of Naruto as it began to pass through him.

**L-I-O-N! LION!**

Naruto stood in front of Kakashi in the form of Beast and did some light stretches before he got into a stance. Kakashi still stood there speechless as he didn't understand what was going on here.

"What in the world…?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the Ancient Magician, Beast!"

After that introduction, Naruto ran forward and sent several punches and kicks at Kakashi. Kakashi was forced to put his book away as he put up his guard to backstep and block Naruto's strikes.

_He's a lot faster and stronger now….what did he do?_

On the other hand, despite showing improvement in his matchup. Naruto was still rather annoyed at the fact that taking the form of Beast had not quite closed the skill gap as much as he liked. He reached for another ring on his ring holder over his left leg.

**DOLPHI! GO! DOL-DOL-DOL-DOL-DOLPHI**

A blue circular symbol appeared and passed him through the side as the dolphin mantle appeared at his side again before he charged forward ready to strike at his instructor. Kakashi was still on the defensive as he managed to block another succession of hits with a bit more difficulty than before. But he was still trying to wrap his mind around what was going on.

_What's that dolphin thing that appeared?...He's faster now! Also his movement has become a lot more fluid….what's going on? What kind of power is this?_

**KICK STRIKE! DOLPHI MIX!**

Naruto leapt forward and swung his foot out for the kick that was charged with blue energy before colliding with Kakashi's guard causing him to recoil back and stutter a little. Now Naruto was just annoyed, he was running low on options here and his supposed finisher seemed to only shake Kakashi a little.

_Got any other ideas Chimera? Just Dolphi's power alone isn't cutting it for me right now._

_**The other mantles are still beyond your capability at the moment due to the lack of practice you've had with my power. Perhaps a weapon would suit your purposes. Gather chakra into your hand and put it over the open gates of the buckle. A saber should be sealed inside.**_

Naruto did as told and as his hand was over the buckle, a glow began to appear from inside and suddenly he pulled out a strange looking saber. The blade looked sharp…but it was circular, which was kind of odd. At the hilt, instead of just being a simple horizontal hilt, there was a circular dial and a picture of a dice. What was this?

_**This is the Dice Saber. It was a weapon created from within my power for those who obtained my belt before you. The blade will not cut unless you will it to with your malice and it acts as a medium for my power and mantles using the dial.**_

Naruto then dashed forward swinging the saber wildly which Kakashi dodged easily and pushed him to the side causing Naruto to fall forward on his face.

_Okay, I'm not really trained with swords well, I can worry about how to use this thing later but can you tell me how it acts as a medium for the mantles?_

_**Spin the dial and insert the ring inside. Whichever dice number appears reflects how strong the finishing attack will be. This weapon could be incredibly optimal or insanely detrimental as the chakra input required is the same regardless of the number you roll. If you roll a 3, that would be the appropriate amount relative to others.**_

Naruto nodded before he spun the dial and then inserted the Dolphi ring in after a few seconds.

**FOUR! DOLPHI! SABER STRIKE!**

The dice saber then began to glow and when Naruto swung it 4 relatively large yellowing transparent dolphins were released and charged at Kakashi. As each dolphin collided in the area it caused an explosion and a huge puff of smoke and dirt was kicked into the sky. After a few seconds, Kakashi leapt out of the smoke with a little dirt on his clothes and uneven breathing, but was relatively unharmed. He looked right at Naruto and grinned a little.

"Not bad, but is that all?"

Truthfully speaking, Kakashi was rather impressed with Naruto at the moment.

_After using Shadow clones, and two seemingly strong finishers his breath isn't even that uneven. What monstrous_ _stamina._

Naruto grit his teeth but the truth was in fact that WAS all he had. He tried to formulate a plan in his head but suddenly Sasuke landed in front of him.

"Sorry to cut in, but from the look on your face I'd say you're out of options. So I guess it's my turn."

Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out the lost driver before attaching it to his waist. Kakashi's jaw dropped at this similar notion and he couldn't help but think someone was out to get him. Did the Hokage just team of 3 kids with weird transforming powers and decide that Kakashi deserved some punishment or something?

"I have to say though, for someone who was deadlast, I'm surprised you can change too."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at the word "too" as Sasuke pulled out the Joker memory and pressed the button it.

**JOKER!**

Sasuke then inserted it into his driver and was surrounded by purple energy before taking the form of Joker again. He dashed at Kakashi and began trying to break his guard.

_Hmm this form is quite a bit slower than that dolphin thing Naruto used a bit ago, but its fighting form is definitely more unpredictable. But still, his current ability isn't anything to worry about._

Sasuke began struggling in the same manner as Naruto as he realized that his Joker form definitely was not getting the job done, but his frustration clouded his judgment a little as he missed the slight look of surprise on Kakashi's face.

_It's strange, as unpredictable as I find his fighting style to be, it seems as though he's slowly adjusting to me and judging from his frustrated yelling he doesn't realize he's doing it subconsciously….this could be incredible talent potential._

Sasuke continued to try to push Kakashi back with a mixups of kicks and punches but he wasn't really sure about this game plan. Kakashi seemed to have the most tricks in the open area but he highly doubted that he, himself, had the skill to outclass him in a closed area like the forest. Out of desperation he ejected out the Joker memory and inserted it into a slot on his side.

**MAXIMUM DRIVE**

Sasuke's body seemed to pulse out purple energy every few seconds in intervals before he leapt into the air and aimed a kick down at Kakashi.

**JOKER EXTREME!**

The kick collided with Kakashi's guard, but much like Naruto's attempt it only caused Kakashi to stagger a little. Sasuke was getting a little anxious now, it seemed like Joker wasn't that effective at all. It seemed that his problem was that he was literally outclassed in all aspects, he needed a different plan of attack.

_Any ideas Dragon?_

_**Well, the skill gap is most definitely the fact you're outclassed in all aspects, you could try another memory but that would require you to fight around the fact that you are now specialized in one area.**_

He ejected out the Joker memory and quickly inserted a grey looking one with the letter M.

**METAL!**

While his form did not physically change, he turned from all black with purple hands to all grey and a staff appeared on his back. Sasuke reached around his back and got into a stance with his metallic bo staff. Kakashi analyzed the stance and tried to figure out what this new form was.

_Well, it DID say metal. Sounds like it probably is a trade-off of speed for strength._

He was shook out of his thoughts as he had to side step a downward swing that caused a small collapse of the ground area that the staff struck.

_Definitely strength…._

Sasuke was trying to read Kakashi's movement to bait him into a position where he had limited dodging options so he could strike him. He didn't have a chance without Joker's all around boost in terms of speed but if he could read Kakashi's movements then it should be do-able. He swung low and kept his stance low trying to bait Kakashi into the air which succeeded as Kakashi jumped directly upward to dodge the attack and Sasuke then smirked before ejecting out the Metal memory and inserting into the side where the Joker memory previously was.

**MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

The Staff began to glow a little as it was charged with energy and he jumped upward just high enough to be under Kakashi before he swung his staff around and struck him in the chest. Kakashi brought his hands up but he knew he had to take this attack full on.

**METAL DIVIDER!**

Kakashi coughed a little as he hit the ground but still managed to stand up and dust himself off.

_Man, that was a really strong attack, but luckily I had my guard up or I would've taken more damage. He was also in the air too meaning he was probably a bit too disoriented to swing at me with full force._

Sasuke was a little disappointed as he realized that Kakashi had still only managed to take minimal damage. Sasuke was weighing his options as he realized right now just how exhausted he was.

_**This is the burden of using two maximum drives in such quick succession. Be careful Sasuke.**_

Sasuke made a mental note to plan better ahead at this. He hadn't expected such a combination to be so taxing on his stamina. He looked to his side and noted that Naruto didn't look much better too as he was still breathing rather hard and using his arms to prop himself up. Then, Sakura appeared in front of the two.

"I can't let you two have ALL the fun. Although I must say, if Kakashi could pass all three of us, we would have quite the interesting team."

With that, Sakura reached into her back pocket and pulled out the Decadriver which caused Kakashi to seriously reconsider just demanding if the Hokage was out to get him. Really? What were the odds that he would get THREE crazy transforming kids. Naruto and Sasuke were bewildered as they had no idea anyone else other than themselves had drivers and finding out another was interesting enough, but three total was just crazy. Sakura attached the Decadriver to herself before reaching for her booklet and taking out a card and inserting it into the driver.

**DECADE!**

Sakura immediately assumed her form and Kakashi got into a stance ready for the inevitable charge but Sakura simply just stood there.

"After witnessing those two, I'm not stupid enough to think my standard form has a chance against you."

With that, Sakura reached for another card and inserted it into the driver.

**KUUGA! MIGHTY!**

Sakura changed her form to that of Kuuga and a red chestplate appeared over her base form and beetle like horns appeared over her forehead and the rest of her armor was plated black bar for her ruby eye area. She charged forward and copied the same attempts as Naruto and Sasuke to try and break Kakashi's guard but her attempts were proving futile much like the two before her.

_Do you have any advice Phoenix?_

_**Pegasus, Dragon, and Titan are all specialized forms and not as balanced as Mighty. If you try and take those forms off the bat he's going to overwhelm you with your weakness. Try and put him in favorable situations as Mighty before going for a quick change to try and land a hit.**_

Sakura thought this over and realized that Phoenix was indeed correct. So she got even closer to Kakashi amidst her attempts to strike so that Kakashi would struggle a little to read her arm and leg movements giving him less time to react and block appropriately. As Kakashi recoiled his legs for a larger jump backwards, Sakura quickly reacted by inserting a different card into her driver.

**KUUGA: TITAN**

Sakura's red chest plate quickly turned light purple with a darker shade of purple to outline the edges as she managed to strike Kakashi squarely in the chest as he was leaping back causing him to exhale and lose his breath. He noticed immediately that, that attack came significantly slower and assumed she made the same mistake as Sasuke so he brought his arms up ready to parry and strike back to punish her lack of speed. But as Sakura came around again for another strike, as her arm was about to meet his block, her other hand inserted another card into her belt.

**KUUGA: DRAGON**

The armor then turned blue and her attack suddenly sped up before evading his guard as she landed a small succession of hits on his shoulders and chest which shoved him back. This surprised him but he noted the sudden lack of force between her attacks.

_Hmm alternating between speed and strength while using a more balanced form to apprehend me at the beginning. This one shows a lot of strategic promise. But, it's time for me to go on the offensive._

Suddenly Kakashi seemed to defuse into the ground and disappear which surprised Sakura for a second before she regained her concentration and reached for yet another card.

**KUUGA: PEGASUS**

Sakura's armor changed to a dark forest green this time and a small bowgun seemed to appear in her hand. She stood still for a second as this form augmented her senses greatly but reduced her fighting potential significantly. Then she leapt into the air and fired into the ground causing an explosion and part of the ground to be destroyed revealing Kakashi.

"You can't hide from Pegasus….Sensei."

Kakashi couldn't help but frown a little at the smugness of Sakura's voice. Arrogance was unbecoming of someone at that age, granted she did do better than her teammates but it was time for himt o go on the offensive. He got into a more appropriate stance before he noticed that Sakura changed forms again.

**KABUTO!**

Sakura had a more beetlike appearance this time as instead of horns, there was a stag like structure coming from her forehead and now her armor had bands of red outline various blue rectangles for a sleeker look. Kakashi readied himself as he was unsure of what this form was capable of. Sakura then brought her arm up and then seemed to whisper something.

"Clock up…"

Before Kakashi could register what she said, she immediately blurred out from view and sped right at him. The speed shocked Kakashi at first so he fumbled a bit while attempting to block again, but this time he wasn't going to only be defending.

_This speed is impressive, but you're still only a child recklessly attacking me_

In the middle of Sakura's succession of hits she suddenly found Kakashi behind her and through a serious of strikes to her shoulders and legs she fell forward and felt a rather large stinging sensation on her shoulder blades as she reverted back to normal. Kakashi looked at his 3 students on the ground and smirked a little.

"It seems despite odd transforming powers, none of you have quite what it takes to become a true ninja."

Naruto growled a little at this and Sasuke glared at Kakashi while Sakura was looking at the ground swearing a little to herself. Naruto then stood up and looked at his two teammates.

"I really want to be a ninja, but at the moment what I want more is to wipe the smirk off this smug bastard's face. Let's beat his ass and worry about passing and bells later."

His two teammates made eye contact with him and looked back at Kakashi before a smirk appeared on their faces and they nodded. They each resumed their forms once more.

**DECADE!**

**JOKER!**

**L-I-O-N! LION!**

Naruto quickly put up his hand to stop his teammates from charging in as he formed the dolphi mantle on his shoulder again.

_Chimera, you said the dolphin mantle had the powers to heal up to however good my control of your magic is right? Can it also transfer energy?_

_**…..Yes, but do you really want to risk losing a portion of your energy right now? You know what'll happen if….**_

_Yes, I'm aware what will happen and don't worry. I got tons of energy left and that stupid Fox should keep you satisfied for now._

Naruto channeled some energy to his ring before it started to glow along with his mantle. Then small sparks of blue flew into the air and fell on him and his teammates as their small bruises and cuts began to fade and Sasuke and Sakura's breathing began to even.

"I've given us a bit of a recharge….so now let's commence with the ass whooping!"

His teammates smirked at this before charging forward with him.

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of his 3 students who were on the floor breathing rapidly and covered in dirt and bruises as the timer went off.

"So, by ass whooping…did you mean yours?"

The trio grumbled a little as they noted their failure to pass the test or even get good hits against their sensei.

"I know I said I'd fail you if you couldn't get a bell, but I want you to know that the true component this test verifies is your teamwork. It was designed to see who would put their team goal above their individual goals for the sake of the team. A rule passed down onto me was those who abandon their mission goal are trash….but those who abandon their teammates are even lower than that. While you technically came together as a team, it wasn't quite what I expected or desired. But teamwork is teamwork...in any form, I suppose. I guess I can pass you guys."

Naruto laughed at this sudden revelation before he realized what this meant for them.

"Hey, what can I say? Enemy of my enemy is my comrade. Right guys?"

**TBC**

ANNNDDD DONE, Jesus that was a long chapter. I was tempted to split this chapter in 2 but I REALLY wanted to get the little skirmish with Kakashi all in one go, so here we are I guess hahaha. Anyhow, yeah I know; a lot of creative liberties with Fang and Dragon, but it's for the story; so live with it ;P

Anyhow, shoot me a review for how you think I'm doing so far! Thanks and see you next time!


	5. Waves of Revelations

**Hey guys, I'm back once again for another chapter! I told myself I wouldn't wait as long as last time…but I guess it didn't really work haha, so here we go! I start school again fairly soon….so that might be a big delay in the future though.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

**Chapter 5: Waves of Revelations**

"…So, let me get this straight. The three of you somehow managed to stumble on these belts….or drivers, whatever you call them, and they have each granted you strange powers."

The trio known as Team 7 slowly nodded as they were questioned by the Hokage. After passing the three, Kakashi had insisted that they go see the Hokage to air out and clear out any confusion going on about why these three happened to obtain these weird abilities. The Hokage moved his stare soley at Sasuke as he continued his brief summary.

"As for you, you say that the night of your family massacre….a stranger asked if you had the courage to ride with the devil…and then handed you this…Lost driver….and the Gaia Memories?"

Sasuke slowly nodded and added a bit of his own input, "I don't know who the stranger was. This person was wearing a long cloak that covered most of their features and he or she was obscured in the shadows of the night. They haven't ever tried to contact me since then."

The Sandaime nodded his head as he took a puff of his pipe and moved his gaze over to Sakura.

"You say you happened to just wake up wearing the Decadriver and booklet of cards? Forgive me for not just believing you on face value, but that sounds really farfetched."

Sakura then had a really annoyed look on her face but she supposed she could understand where he was coming from.

"Yes, I know it sounds strange but Yamanaka Ino can attest to this fact. I fell asleep in the forest while waiting for her and she returned and swore I wasn't wearing them prior. I didn't explain the nature of them to her though."

The Sandaime paused for a moment before he continued his inquiry.

"What exactly is the nature of your transformation powers? Exactly what are you turning into? You don't have quite a definitive theme like the other 2."

"I'm not 100% sure, but I THINK these are the forms of individuals in the past that possessed extraordinary powers. My parents told me of legends that were based on heroes that a lot of individuals agree did exist at one point before mysteriously disappearing. The forms reflect a lot on how they were described by appearance and by abilities in the books that have been passed down and written retelling the tale."

The Sandaime nodded a bit at this explanation as it did seem to make some sense, despite how odd this whole ordeal was. Sakura decided to leave out the part about having the dream and being sent on the quest to stop some strange unspeakable evil that this…Tsukasa had instructed her with. She didn't understand a single bit of it and she doubted anyone in the room would either. None of the books she read ever talked about anything of this magnitude. The Sandaime then slowly turned his head to Naruto before palming his face and groaning.

"….And you, the reason you obtained this power was because you picked up a ring I dropped years ago and managed to get your hands on the artifact we also discovered and somehow put two and two together?"

Naruto slowly nodded, but he could feel and visibly see some of the frustration that the old man was having.

"…We thought the stuff was a dud as we couldn't get any of it to work….I can't believe it turned out like this. While I wish you would've just reported this back to me way earlier…say about when you found them, I suppose I can understand why you risked using them when you did as you were too young to understand or simply just not in the right frame of mind."

The Sandaime closed his eyes before taking another puff of his pipe and contemplating his thoughts before something struck him.

"Is it possible for others to use these drivers?"

This question surprised the three and they all stared off to the side as if in deep thought before they each closed their eyes for a moment. Naruto was the first to re-open his eyes and speak.

"For me; no. My belt had an ancient mythical creature sealed inside of it called Chimera and he is whom I draw the power from. The belt acts as a medium so I can more easily wield his strength but after I first transformed, we became one and he is now sealed within me rather than inside the driver. So even if the driver was removed, the power I utilize is still within me, I won't be able to use it though."

Sarutobi raised his eyebrows at this. Naruto had ANOTHER creature within him now? …..Did this Chimera manage to communicate with the Kyuubi? That could lend itself to be potentially dangerous if a demon and a magical creature were trapped in one container. He definitely had one question though.

"Naruto, did this Chimera ever tell you the origins of this power?"

"Yeah, the abilities I have is considered ancient sorcery and magic. Chimera said there was a period long in the past where the age of scientific development and magic stood equal. However, dark magic was used by certain individuals to bring birth to dark creatures known as phantoms. While he himself is a phantom, they used his power to create a forbidden driver that would be used to seal phantoms. After many wars ravaged across the world, the theories of magic were lost upon civilization reoccurring. However, they sort of messed up the way the energies interacted when they created this driver and instead came out with this belt which creates a pact with Chimera in which the user must consume the energy of his foe to restore his own Chakra reserves. If they deplete entirely than Chimera will consume the life of the individual."

This immediately caught Sandaime's attention as he stood up and looked right at Naruto

"What? That sounds incredibly dangerous! You're wearing a ticking time bomb around your body. Are you feeling okay?!"

Naruto laughed at the Hokage's concern but he supposed that it was only natural considering he didn't explain his predicament fully to the old man. He was hoping the old man would just catch on but now he knew he had to choose his words carefully in front of his teammates.

"Ah, it's not actually that bad. Due to my….er, irregularly large pool of stamina as long as I don't exert myself repeatedly and I give myself some time to recharge, the rate at which I recover is actually enough to keep Chimera satisfied and let me regain my strength provided I wait long enough."

Naruto had emphasized the word irregularly in hopes that it would catch the old man's attention so he wouldn't have to go into any further detail. The Sandaime's mouth opened slowly as he nodded finally understanding.

_I suppose in a way, there's nobody more fitting than him to wear that belt._

He turned his gaze at Sasuke and Sakura who both seemed to have snapped out of their thoughts. He looked at them and gestured a bit at Naruto to let them know he was going to ask the same questions. Sasuke looked up and nodded before speaking.

"I'm not sure as to why this driver was created, but like Naruto, I also have a creature sealed within me called Dragon. However, he wasn't part of the lost driver. He was a separate Gaia Memory that I had tried to use but didn't have the strength for it. What ended up happening was that I absorbed the memory into me instead. Dragon said that the Gaia Memories were forged long ago during the time of magic as well; they're condensed essences of Earth's natural energies and power. He said that Lost Driver is bound to the first user and acts as a neutralizer for the Memories. While you don't need the driver to use their power, parts of the Earth's powers is like a toxin to the human body and using the driver helps counterbalance it. So I guess others could use the memories, but it could be kind of dangerous."

The Sandaime then looked at Sakura who had a rather nervous look on her face.

"What about you, do you have some creature within you as well?

"Yeah….I have Phoenix within me. Although, I don't have much to offer in terms of information as Phoenix just says he doesn't remember much of anything other than the power and that he recalls once roaming the earth. As for if anyone else can use it, I'm kind of similar to Sasuke. Only I can use the base form of Decade which acts as a medium for me to utilize the other forms more easily. In theory, other individuals could skip the base form but it would be really stressful on their body, not really a toxin like for Sasuke, but just painful."

The Sandaime once again took a pause as he took in all their information and sat about thinking as he continued to smoke his pipe. He sighed a bit as he took out a stack of papers and looked through them.

"Well….originally I was going to ask if you could hand over the equipment to us and let us study it….but I suppose at this point nobody is more fit to use it then you three. Now, let see….as for your mission of today…."

The trio let out a sigh of relief as that was what they were most concerned with. They couldn't help but smile a little as it finally hit them that they were true ninjas of Konohagakure now. Not to mention, they were probably one of the most unique teams of all times. They were sure that great things were on the horizon!

"….weed the gardens and harvest the potatoes followed by rescuing a cat."

Or not.

* * *

_**Sakura, I don't really think Kabuto's power was meant to be used like this….**_

_Whatever, we need to get with the times….even if that does mean using a burst of speed to harvest potatoes…._

* * *

**LUNA!**

A yellow arm stretched out across the trees and bent itself to avoid tree trunks and snaked itself around a cat and snatching it back to where Sasuke was in his new form.

_**Sasuke….you spent all that time to learn to control the Luna memory….just to rescue a cat?**_

* * *

"NO WAY OLD MAN…NO MORE. I AM NOT RESCUING CATS OR WEEDING GARDENS OR DELIVERING PAPERS OR WHATEVER WEIRD CHORES YOU HAVE FOR US TODAY."

While Kakashi sweatdropped and tried to calm Naruto down, Sakura and Sasuke could only silently agree as they felt like servants the past few days. Even if they were considered the bottom of all the ninja ranks, these jobs were ridiculous. The Sandaime palmed his forehead and Iruka sighed at Naruto's outburst before he began to lecture him.

"Look Naruto, I know this probably isn't what you were expecting, but you are a genin; the bottom of all ninja ranks. Of course you have to start with grunt work and work your way up, that's how life works and that's how you make a living."

Before Naruto could jump up with another angry outburst, Sakura was quick to chime in.

"I understand that Iruka-Sensei, but the work we're doing I wouldn't even call ninja grunt work. This is work that we could have done at the academy or literally any citizen could do. This work in no way requires any fundamental basic ninja skills that we should have and because of that, we aren't even exercising anything useful. It's literally a waste of time."

The Sandaime sat for a moment before he realized there was some truth to Sakura's words, but he wasn't ready to cave yet.

"Well, I can agree to maybe perhaps this is a bit too low to even call grunt work for a ninja, it is still important that you start from the bottom and ease yourself in to doing missions for a living as you were all just children living at home not doing much several days ago."

Before Sakura could respond to that, Sasuke decided to pipe in hopes of persuading the Hokage as he too was incredibly annoyed at doing menial and mundane tasks.

"Even so sir, the academy has given us practical fundamentals of combat and strategic awareness even if it is in pure basics. While we may be young, literally anyone is capable of weeding gardens. Surely you can agree we don't train ninjas so they can do our daily chores? Even if we are young and fresh graduates, don't you have faith we can at least take on tasks that pits us against muggers or random bandits that pillage? Our occupation literally prepares us to kill or combat individuals from the get go. That aside, our team specifically has three individuals with strange weird magic powers, I'd say that at LEAST qualifies us for a mission dealing with everyday thugs of some sorts."

Naruto's jaw dropped at his teammate's lengthy description and argumentation as to why they should stop doing these missions. Damn! He only wanted to stop doing it because they were boring, he had no idea there was such a seemingly complex reason for them to stop.

The Sandaime sighed as he suppose that these three were correct. They WERE technically Ninja's which would theoretically put them more then qualified to take on a random thug, he reached down under his desk and grabbed another scroll.

"Alright alright, I'll give you guys a low C-class mission that should be a bit more…exciting than your previous endeavors I suppose."

The trio piped up at this and each had a smile on their face as they realized they were no longer going have to rescue that stupid cat!

"Your job is to protect the client from thieves, bandits, or various thugs that may hinder his job. It will bring you out Konoha and into the land of the Waves. Here is your client now."

As the trio looked towards the door, a man carrying a package of materials on his back and alcohol in his hand entered.

"I am the amazing bridge builder Tazuna…you three are supposed to protect me? You all look like a bunch of brats."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at this, god, maybe rescuing the cat wasn't that bad.

"Yes yes, the drunk bridge builder is going to insult the three trained killers who could kill his civilian ass eight ways to Sunday. You are clearly ready to do business in today's world."

Naruto's jaw dropped at this, "Holy shit Sasuke, you've talked more just now in this room then I've seen in all the years at the academy!"

* * *

"WOOHOO! ROAD TRIP!"

Kakashi sighed as Naruto burst into random happiness as Team 7 and Tazuna walked out of the gates and down the path towards their target destination.

"This is not a luxurious trip Naruto, even if this job only entails for random thieves, you should always be on your guard and treat this mission seriously. Your life is technically at risk at all times."

"Pfft, such a grumpy old man. Why do you always have to be a downer Sensei?"

"So that you won't die in the future."

Naruto crossed his arms and began to grumble to himself as Kakashi then turned his attention to Tazuna.

"So Tazuna, although the Land of the Waves have no ninja of their own, why are you worried about thieves raiding your work site?"

"Well, there's a guy called Gato who runs a fairly large gang of thugs that run the black market and also pillage from the towns occasionally. Because of this, we're rather poor. If I complete my bridge, then our town could potentially become a great trading center as it links us to many roads to other villages which would greatly improve the economy of our town which would lessen Gato's hold over it.

"Ah, I see now. Well you don't have to worry about it then. My students may seem very young, but they are indeed trained killers. They are more than enough to handle the average thug or thief. Also for reassurance, as their instructor, I am a ninja elite at the top of the ranks."

The moment those words left Kakashi's mouth two chains wrapped around him as two masked ninjas rose from a puddle behind them.

"First target…."

Kakashi exploded in a burst of blood as the ninjas pulled in opposite directions before turning their attention to Naruto.

"Target number two…"

Naruto froze at these words as a chill went up his spine now that he was potentially facing his own mortality. A cry of surprise shook him out of his fear as he turned around and noticed that Sasuke had stepped down on their shoulders with his legs and threw shurikens to pin their chains to a tree trunk. Then he held onto the midsection of their chains before pushing back with his legs to disarm them of their chains. After rebounding off the floor, one of them quickly turn their attention to Sakura and Tazuna and dashed towards the pair. Sakura brought up a kunai knife and prepared to block before Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of both of them and prepared himself to strike.

But before the clash could occur, Kakashi suddenly came from the side and rammed into the ninja causing him to collide into the tree. He then turned his attention to the other and then tied up both of them using their chains. He then looked over to Tazuna with a serious expression.

"…..These two are mid ranked missing-nin of Kirigakure…the demon brothers. Our mission description only specifies down to common muggers and thugs, not enemy ninjas. Care to explain?"

Tazuna sighed as he realized the façade was up.

"We already had knowledge that Gato hired enemy ninja's to guarantee his success. Our country is quite poor and could not afford to hire ninja of our own so we talked down the issue and presented ourselves as a lower ranking mission in hopes it would turn out for us at a lower price. I can understand if you wish to retract the mission now….but please, if this succeeds then we will most definitely have the money to pay you back!"

"The problem is not one of monetary nature, it's that this has instantly jumped to a more dangerous mission that is questionable to give to my students. While they are fit to fight common thugs, I am unsure to what extent these enemy ninjas could potentially be meaning that there could be a battle that my students are not ready for. Their lack of lethal combat experience was already evident in this small skirmish."

At that last statement, Team 7 scowled at their sensei who then put his hand up at them gesturing them to stop.

"Say what you will, but it was crystal clear in your actions. Naruto froze in fear and would have potentially died if Sasuke had not stepped in. Even though he did, it was very poor decision making on his part. Although he saved Naruto, he turned his attention to only one meaning that the other was free to do whatever he wanted which could have meant just turn around and try to kill Naruto again. Sakura, despite attempting to defend yourself in the end, you were also late to react to the situation and you failed to follow up on Sasuke's sloppy lead."

The three stayed silent as they knew that as much as they hated to admit it, Kakashi was indeed correct. It seemed as if the moment they had the chance to prove themselves they blew it. Sasuke let out a sigh as he turned back to Kakashi looking for the next course of action.

"What do we do now, Kakashi-Sensei?"

* * *

The three could not help but glare at Tazuna for playing dirty as they all had the same thought going through them.

_Stupid old man guilt tripping us with his family's death hanging over them. When this is over, I want to make him suffer._

Despite that though, there was a semblance of excitement amongst the three as this meant they had another chance to prove to their master that they were ready for the task at hand. However, Kakashi definitely had different thoughts going through him.

_Given the way the 1__st__ attack was organized….this second one won't be just chuuin…it'll be jounin level which means I have a lot of work ahead of me….bah…_

Naruto was bubbling with joy though, he couldn't wait to show off his abilities and show that he was worthy of acknowledgement.

_Last time I froze up….but that won't happen again. I won't let Sasuke show me up anymore!_

At that thought he saw a bit of rustling in the bushes from his peripheral vision and quickly tossed a shuriken in that direction.

"OVER THERE!"

Silence fell over the group as each member felt a certain level of tenseness as the wind blew by and nothing emerged from the bushes where Naruto tossed his weapon. A vein bulged on Sakura's forehead as she slowly turned to Naruto with a glare in his direction.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? MAKING US WORRY LIKE THAT!"

Naruto sweat dropped as he put his hands up and slowly walked backwards as Sakura walked towards him.

"No! I swear I saw something move over there, look!"

With that, he quickly jogged over to the bush and reached inward before he felt something. With a yell, he pulled out the object to reveal…..a rabbit with a shuriken embedded in its forehead. As Sakura began to berate Naruto for killing wildlife, Kakashi couldn't help but notice something peculiar about this situation.

_This type of rabbit is supposed to have fur that corresponds with the seasons and sunlight. It should have brown fur this time of year…..but seeing as how the fur is white means that someone has been keeping it caged for substitution purposes…_

Right as Kakashi finished that thought a giant sword flew through the air and embedded itself on an upper area of a tree trunk and an individual landed on the blade. "Hmm well well well…Copy-cat Kakashi….I suppose that's why the demon brothers stood no chance in their endeavors."

Kakashi squinted a bit to get a better view at the individual standing up in the trees before his eyes widened.

"Hmph, Momochi Zabuza, missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

Kakashi looked to his side and noticed Naruto with a rather large smirk on his face with his legs ready to pounce at any chance given. Kakashi quickly put his hand in front of Naruto and lightly shook his head.

"No, you three will protect Tazuna. This one is on a significantly different level than the last two. If you three get involved, this could get quite difficult."

With that sentiment, Kakashi slowly moved his hand up to his slanted headband in preparation of revealing his other eye. Zabuza took note of this and had a rather amused look in his eye.

"Oh, are you about to grace me with the prescence of your Sharingan eye already?"

At this, Sasuke's eyes widened as thoughts began racing through his head.

_The Sharingan eye is said to be able to see through the three fundamentals of Shinobi….Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu….but this doujutsu is supposed to only appear to a select few members of the Uchiha Clan….could he be…?_

Sasuke was shaken out of his thoughts as Zabuza began laughing before looking at the confused faces of Naruto and Sakura.

"Within the bingo books of notable Ninja, there is quite a description on Kakashi. Aside from having excellent skills, he is said to have copied over 1000 techniques using the Sharingan which gained him notoriety throughout the Ninja world."

While Sakura was awed at this. Naruto couldn't help but narrow his eyes at his sensei.

"Are you kidding me Sensei? A thousand techniques in your arsenal and you couldn't dodge an eraser?"

At this, Zabuza chuckled before putting his hands together in a seal before suddenly disappearing in thick mist.

**Secret Technique: Hidden Mist**

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi all put their backs to Tazuna in attempts to protect him and mitigate the amount of blind spots they had. Then Zabuza's voice rang through the air.

**"So many options….the body has so many vital spots to target that could end an individual's life in an instant. Decisions…decisions…"**

Upon hearing this, Sasuke began to slowly tremble as the killer intent swept through his body and he couldn't contain the growing fear that began shooting through his body.

_This bloodlust….it feels like if I make a single move he'll kill me immediately. I can't even control my body properly right now…_

"Don't worry Sasuke, I won't let my comrades die."

Sasuke slowly turned his head and noticed Kakashi with a rather joyous look on his face that seemed to put Sasuke at ease for a bit. Kakashi's face suddenly turned serious before he spun and shoved the rest of his team and Tazuna down to avoid Zabuza who had suddenly jumped by swining his sword horizontally which seemed to cut Kakashi in half. Sakura opened her mouth to scream before her face contorted in confusion as Kakashi's 2 halves burst into water.

"It's over."

With those words, Kakashi suddenly dashed in from behind Zabuza and rammed a kunai knife into his side as the trio of Team 7 looked on in awe.

"Unfortunately for you, I am not easy prey."

Kakashi's eyes widened as the Zabuza in front of him burst into water as well and Zabuza appeared behind him with his sword drawn. Kakashi quickly ducked to avoid the sword but Zabuza used the momentum of the spin to deliver a roundhouse kick sending Kakashi into a nearby lake. Kakashi turned himself over and was on his legs before he noticed something incredibly peculiuar.

_What's going on…? This water is so heavy…_

"You tried to recuperate in the water…..that was a mistake."

**Secret Techinque: Water Prison**

The water around Kakashi began to lift and it formed into a sphere that encased his entire body.

"We can finish this fight in a second Kakashi, but first, there are children that must die."

With that, Zabuza concentrated some Chakra and the small puddles on the floor slid together and upward before taking the form of Zabuza.

"Hehe, wearing those head-bands and acting like Ninjas….a real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Only when your skill merits a listing in my bingo book do you earn yourself the rightful title of ninjas…you three are merely children playing around."

With that, the water clone faded into the mist before reappearing in front of Naruto and sending a roundhouse kick at Naruto before he could even react. Naruto flew backwards after taking the hit and his headband flew off his head and into the water clone's hand. As Naruto slowly got back up, fear was slowly shooting through him. Kakashi's voice caught his attention soon after.

"Take Tazuna and run! You have no chance of beating him, as long as he keeps me contained in this prison he cannot move. The clone can't move very far from the original's body!"

Naruto gulped as he started to feel the hopelessness of the situation.

_This is a jounin…a real ninja. At this rate…I'm actually going to die!_

As Naruto attempted to stand up he looked at the ring on his finger that he used to seal the Beast Driver within him. After looking at that, he looked one more time at his headband that Zabuza was holding.

_No….I worked way too hard to earn that headband. It also once belonged to Master Iruka….I won't let this dirt bag belittle me….Master Iruka told me that the headband was a symbol I graduated and am considered a grown up…..I won't let this fucker take that from me!_

With newfound resolve, Naruto grit his teeth and bawled his fists as he ran directly at Zabuza despite the voices of dissent from his teammates and instructor. The water clone only scoffed at him before delivering another kick sending Naruto back to where his teammates were. Sakura began to berate Naruto for his reckless actions.

"What in the world do you think you're doing? We're genin! We have no chance against someone like that!"

She took a breather and noticed that Naruto had his headband clutched around his hand. Naruto paused for a second before slowly trying the headband around his forehead and glaring at Zabuza.

"Hey dirtbag….let me tell you something. Whosoever stands against me….stands briefly."

The nature of the phrase startled Zabuza a bit before he began to break out in laughter.

"You three will never grow up. When I was about your age….these hands of mine were already dyed with blood. The graduation exam for me in the mist back in the days…earned us the nick name The Bloody Mist. Our path to the title of ninja was a fight to the death amongst students until one day, a young kid who held no remorse nor hesitation, killed hundreds of students….Ah yes, the good old days."

This revelation shocked the three for a moment before a voice within the heads of Team 7 spoke out to them.

_**Do not let this mortal fool belittle you….you may be young, but you are bestowed with powers beyond his imagination….**_

Hearing this snapped Sasuke out of his shock before he reached for the Joker memory and smirked at Zabuza.

"Is that so? Then I'll polish my weapons…in your blood."

The lack of any sort of fear or shock within the kids surprised Zabuza a bit as they spoke right back at him without an ounce of fear or hesitation. His surprise only furthered as the trio took a stance and a range of movements familiar to Kakashi.

**JOKER!**

**DECADE!**

**SET! OPEN! L-I-O-N LION!**

As Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura took on the forms of Beast, Joker, and Decade, respectively, Naruto turned his attention towards Zabuza.

"Record this for your stupid handbook…I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the Ancient Magician; Beast! Your fate….is mine to decide."

Sasuke did some windmills with his arms before he pointed right at Zabuza as well.

"Now, count up your crimes…."

Sakura took her booklet and pulled on the edge so that it formed a jute with the booklet as the hilt before she pointed it at Zabuza.

"This will only hurt….forever."

This most definitely surprised Zabuza as he now had no idea what was going on.

_Where did these kids get this strange burst of confidence? What are these forms they're taking?_

Despite the thoughts, he could only utter one question.

"Who…are you three?"

Before Sasuke or Naruto could answer, Sakura stepped forward and answered.

"Just a couple of kids passing through….remember that…."

**TBC**

**WHEW! Sorry that took so long….I slowly became unhappier with this chapter the more I wrote it out. I feel like the way I ended it became very ugh, not sure how to explain it. I got a bit bored towards the end and decided to use a lot of quotes from various things hehe…see if you can pick them out! I hope the ending doesn't make them too OOC! I know it definitely is different, but I want to portray these three a little differently than the original Manga in general (their personalities rubbed me the wrong way haha)**

**Anyhow, shoot me a review to let me know how I'm doing!**

**Until next time!**


	6. It's Showtime!

**Whew, back again and University has started for me so that's one more delay to add onto this. But I am determined to keep going! So, here we go!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter 6:

**It's Showtime!**

_Previously_

* * *

_"Who…are you three?"_

Before Sasuke or Naruto could answer, Sakura stepped forward and answered.

"Just a couple of kids passing through….remember that…."

* * *

Sakura looked towards her teammates before she lowered her voice to ensure that Zabuza could not hear her.

"Look, despite being surprised at what we just did, I highly doubt he will still look at us as any type of worthy adversary. This means the element of surprise is on our side. But if we take too long, he's going to figure us out and then we surely will no longer have a chance to do this."

Both Naruto and Sasuke thought for a moment before realizing that Sakura was indeed right. Sasuke thought for a second before gesturing at Naruto and then to himself before giving a small nod in Zabuza's direction. Sakura then nodded and looked at where Kakashi was. As Naruto finally caught on, a smirk found itself onto his face as he walked forward and gained the water clone's attention.

"Hey Sakura, a water clone is approximately one tenth of the strength of the original, right?

Sakura nodded.

"Good, because I highly doubt I'm worth less than one tenth of this moron."

As Naruto finished his thought he reached downward toward his ring holder and grabbed one of the ones incased in stone before he spoke towards Chimera.

_Hey, do you think I'm ready for this ring yet? You said it would probably be the next easiest one for me to tame._

_**Hmmm…perhaps, you could try. It may give you some trouble but I'd say in light of recent practice you may have finally attained the power to wield this one**_**  
**

Naruto held the ring in his palm before he closed his eyes and focused for a bit. As he opened them, green energy seemed to surround the ring and caused the stone to break away revealing an imprint of a chameleon. Naruto put the ring on before inserting it into his driver in similar manner to the dolphi ring.

**CHAMELEO! CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAMELEO!**

A green circle appeared in front of Naruto and passed through him and a mantle with a chameleon head was now attached to his shoulder. Naruto then reached down and pulled out the Dice Saber from his Driver and dashed forward towards the water clone. He did a horizontal swing only to have it blocked by the clone's massive blade so Naruto used the momentum of his swing to continue turning and doing an outside roundhouse kick with his left leg which pushed the clone back. Naruto then continued to aggressively attack which slowly pushed the clone towards where Zabuza was holding Kakashi captive.

**"**Hmph, perhaps I underestimated these brats a little. That blonde one is fairing quite well even if it is just against a clone."

**LUNA!**

**KUUGA! PEGASUS!**

The loud voice announcement immediately caught Zabuza's attention as he looked to the side and noticed that Sakura had become an odd beetle-like figure with a forest green chest plate and Sasuke has suddenly turned from black to all yellow and made his way toward clone. As the clone caught sight of Sasuke he attempted to back up and attempt to keep both Naruto and Sasuke in his line of sight but then suddenly a golden whip-like tongue came out of the mantle head on Naruto and it lashed out and struck the clone several times putting it in a daze. Naruto quickly then backed up a bit and looked toward Sasuke. Sasuke pulled his arms back and then shot them forward and they stretched until they circled around the water clone and then tightened in order to hold it down. Naruto then spun the dial on his saber and inserted the Chameleo ring.

**TWO! CHAMELEO! SABER STRIKE!**

Upon hearing these words, he couldn't help but groan at his luck before he shook his head and readied his blade.

"Whatever, not the ideal number, but it's not like you can defend yourself anyways."

The Dice Saber began to glow and Naruto got into a slightly crouched stance and slowly spun the blade as if it were a hand on a clock which caused a circular symbol much like his transformation one to appear in front of him. He then did a horizontal swing and released two yellow transparent chameleons that aimed themselves at the water clone. As they collided with the clone they each caused an explosion and kicked dust up into the air. Zabuza lifted his arm up into the air to cover his face for a bit before he heard a sound in the dust.

**KABUTO!**

"Clock up…"

Zabuza tried to concentrate his senses and see through the obscurity of the dust but then suddenly a crimson blur emerged from the side of the dust and was now on Zabuza's right side before red energy seemed to be ejected from the blur and in its place was Sakura in the form of Decade who then inserted a card into her driver.

**FINAL ATTACK RIDE: DECADE!**

Transparent rectangles formed a sort of hallway between Sakura and Zabuza before Sakura leapt upward and aimed a kick at Zabuza while smashing apart every rectangle she went through. The kick connected and sent Zabuza further into the water which released Kakashi from his prison. Before Sakura could catch her breath, Zabuza had sprung up from the water with a rather angry expression on his face as he drew his massive blade and attempted to strike at Sakura. Kakashi then suddenly appeared in front of Zabuza and held a kunai knife to hold Zabuza's cleaver back.

"I believe….we have a fight to finish."

Kakashi then looked back at his students and had a smile on his face for the job well done they managed.

"You've matured, all of you. That was a splendid tactic."

A smile found its way on Sakura's face as Kakashi complimented them.

"I didn't really think we could defeat Zabuza, but Sasuke and Naruto together could most likely bring down the water clone given that we have the element of surprise on our side. I knew Zabuza would keep his attention on them once he thought I was being used to simply guard Tazuna. I pre-emptively used Pegasus to sharpen my senses so I would know where the original Zabuza was standing even through the dust cloud. I told Naruto to use his saber's finishing move to block out Zabuza's sight which left me free to use Kabuto and get into position to free you. I figured as long as we got you released, it would be fine!"

Zabuza sent a glare in her direction before he started grumbling.

"Hmph, seems I got careless and released my technique."

At this sentiment, Kakashi glared at Zabuza and his eyes narrowed.

"You didn't release your technique….it was broken from within."

With that, Kakashi and Zabuza both lept backwards and began making seals at a rapid rate. They both seemed to finish at the same time and water around them begin swirling around their perimeter and rose into the air before coming together and taking the form of a dragon's head.

**Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet**

The two massive aqueous titans clashed and water was thrown in all directions. The two Ninja Elite's stood apart from each other; neither seemingly harmed. They both began taking steps circling their original formation seemingly acting as mirrors to the other. At this, Zabuza's eyes widened.

_What the….how is he mimicking me so accurately? It's almost as if he….._

"….can read my mind. Is that what you were thinking"

Zabuza began to panic a little as Kakashi finished his sentence before he was overcame by anger and immediately rushed into another set of seals and he glared right at Kakashi who then began making similar seals.

"You are just a parrot, mimicking me!"

His anger dissipated for a second as he suddenly saw a faded image of himself appearing at the side of Kakashi which made him pause his hand seals. But Kakashi did not pause as he continued on to finish the sequence of seals.

**Water Style: Great Water Explosion**

A huge torrent of water burst forth from Kakashi's direction which threw Zabuza off his feet as he collided with a nearby tree trunk with his eyes still wide open from shock.

_How?...He completed the technique before I could….can he see into the future?_

His fears seemed to be confirmed as Kakashi looked directly into Zabuza's eyes and slowly began walking towards him pointing a finger at the sky.

"I….foresee your death!"

Before Kakashi could take another action, 2 senbon needles suddenly imbedded themselves into Zabuza's neck causing him to slump and become motionless.

"Well well well…it would appear your prediction came through. Thank you for taking care of this one…I've been tracking him for quite a while. You have done a great service to me."

Team 7 glanced up towards the top of a nearby tree and spotted an individual with an odd mask on. Confusion was written all over Naruto's face as he opened his mouth.

"What the hell is going on? Who are you?"

Kakashi looked at the individual for a second before he nodded and looked back towards his team.

"Don't worry…this is just a Hunter nin from the Mist. Hunter nins track down renegade ninjas such as Zabuza and apprehend them and dispose of the body so the secrets of the village are not given to the public."

In a swirl of leaves, the Hunter nin appeared in front of Zabuza's body before picking him up and giving one last nod to Team 7 and disappearing in another swirl of leaves. Then suddenly, Kakashi fell to ground which surprised his students as they called out his name and quickly ran to his aid.

_Augh…I used the Sharingan for too long….I'm out of strength_

* * *

"Well, at least my house was somewhat nearby, we didn't have to bring your master too far."

Tazuna opened the door to his cottage and called out a name as him and Team 7 slowly entered the area. Team 7 grumbled simultaneously as they were all annoyed at having to carry Kakashi. They propped him up against the chair and proceeded to take note of their surroundings. Sakura noticed something peculiar but before she could ask Tazuna about it, a voice from another room grabbed her attention.

"Dad? Is that you? Are you finally home?"

A tall slender black-haired women appeared at a doorway and took note of Konoha ninjas.

"Ah, you must be those who my dad said he would get to protect the bridge during construction, my name is Tsunami. Your timing is perfect; dinner is just about ready!"

As the trio filed into the kitchen and sat down, Sakura decided to finally ask the question pegging her mind.

"That photo in the living room, how come it's torn? It doesn't look particularly old."

Right as she asked that question, a somewhat somber look seemed to pass over Tsunami's face. Before Sakura would quickly apologize, the sound of the front door opening and closing caught everyone's attention.

A short kid in overalls and a hat came in and he slowly looked around and caught sight of the new individuals within the house.

"…Are you the ones that are about to die to Gatou?"  
"Inari! Show some respect! These people have protected your Grandpa several times today!" Tsunami scolded.

"…But mom, they're going to die. There's no way they can win against Gatou."

Naruto began to see red and started fuming; ready to scream at the brat before Sasuke cut him off.

"Gatou….you're worried about HIM of all people? Please, any three of us could kill him in a blink of an eye, at least set your priorities straight."

Inari scoffed before turning his back to them.

"If you don't want to die, you should leave."

With that, Inari walked away and headed for the stairs. Sasuke scoffed when Inari finally left the room before he turned to look towards Kakashi.

"Hmm, does a Hunter-nin use the corpse to confirm the kill for his village before disposing of it?"

Kakashi thought for a moment as he recalled the events of the Hunter-nin disappearing with the entire body of Zabuza before his eyes widened realizing what Sasuke was starting to get at.

"No….usually only the head is necessary, most Hunters dispose of the corpse on the spot after the kill."

Naruto began looking around in confusion; not really catching on towards the direction of this conversation before Sakura chimed in.

"He killed Zabuza with senbon needls through the neck…aren't they also used as acupuncture needles in medical procedures?"

Kakashi slowly nodded before his eyes narrowed upon realizing what all these things were point towards.

"It's fairly likely…that Zabuza is alive."

Sasuke and Sakura slowly nodded in agreement as Naruto and Tazuna's jaw dropped at this revelation. Kakashi sighed before he directed his view at his students and continued speaking.

"If the needles were meant to induce the body into a state of temporary death, there is a silver lining to this. Zabuza probably won't regain most of his strength until for at least about a week, so that means we have a week to train you guys until that time comes."

* * *

"Based on your most recent skirmishes and the genin exam I had you guys undertake, I think I can isolate most of your weaknesses. The training we are undertaking today should put you guys on track to mitigating those weaknesses and becoming stronger."

Kakashi then turned his attention towards Sakura.

"Sakura, you possess a good strategic understanding of battle and your control of your chakra is more developed and precise when compared to your two teammates. You can manage your multiple transformations much better than these two without burning excess energy. However, I've noticed your total pool of stamina is quite low when compared to the other two."

Sakura blushed a bit at the praise and scratched the back of her head as Kakashi then directed his gaze towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke, while not possessing the wealth of knowledge that Sakura brings towards strategy, you have fairly good reactions and your fighting style is fairly refined and fluid. You amongst the three have the best balance of control and stamina. However, this means you don't quite excel at either so you have to do some catch-up in both departments."

Sasuke nodded as Kakashi finally turned towards Naruto.

"Naruto, you possess a lot of raw strength but you lack finesse in your style, you have probably the worst control of the three meaning you cause a lot of excessive energy loss per technique you use. But this is somewhat covered by the fact that your stamina capacity is ridiculously large."

As Kakashi finished his statement, Naruto couldn't contain his excitement for getting stronger and proceeded to ask a question.

"What's the training we're gonna partake in to overcome our weaknesses Kakashi-Sensei?"

"We're…going to be climbing trees….without our hands."

* * *

Sakura lay against the tree trunk with beads of sweat flowing down her head as she watched Naruto and Sasuke repeatedly ran towards the tree trying to scale to the top much like she had previously.

_Wow…those two are still going at it after so long? They really do have crazy stamina…_

* * *

"Tazuna….I've been thinking this over for a long time…..and I want to stop working on the bridge."

"…What? Why? This is so sudden! Not you too!"

"We've been close friends Tazuna, I want to finish this bridge too, but if Gatou kills you then it's all over. Let's just quit…'

"I can't do that….this bridge we started building together would bring resources into our poor country."

"But what about if we lose our lives?"

"You don't have to come back tomorrow…it's noon already everyone, let's take a lunch break."

The other individual sighed before he gathered his belongings and began a trek towards back towards the city. Tazuna mirrored his sigh as he gestured towards Sakura who was sitting alone and also took towards the city.

* * *

"You seem so bored and lonely here today. What happened to the loud blonde and pretty boy?"

"Hmmmm…..I mastered the training and surpassed them, Kakashi-Sensei told me to come here to protect you."

"I see….that black-haired one mentioned it several times…..but are you three really…trained killers?"

Sakura looked up at Tazuna and could see a rather troubled look on his face.

"Yeah…I know it's a rather hard thing to believe given our age, but ninja's really are trained and set off at a young age. It might be tough to imagine people such as us taking lives away, but that's just how it is. After all, you saw us fighting with Zabuza."

"Have you…."

"No."

Sakura continued to look forward as she answered that question with a firmness in her voice as she knew immediately where this line of questioning was heading down towards. There was a rather awkward silence for a bit before Tazuna asked another question.

"So…what are those forms you three changed into…is that normal for ninjas?"

Sakura gazed at the sky and smiled before she answered, "You know…I'm not really sure at all what those forms are either…."

* * *

"Wow this is great hahaha, it has been quite a while since I've eaten with so many people!"

Tazuna let out a hearty laugh as he watched Sasuke and Naruto continue to scarf down food rapidly before both standing up and lifting their bowls.

"More!"

As they both loudly proclaimed their desire simultaneously they glared at each other before their eyes widened and they sat back down choking and trying to keep their food in their stomach as Sakura palmed her forehead.

"WHATS THE POINT OF EATING IF YOU'RE GONNA HURL IT ALL BACK OUT?"

Sasuke managed to stop hacking and coughing before he looked back at Sakura.

"Nah, I gotta keep eating to build up my strength."

"Yeah, we got to get stronger no matter what it takes," piped in Naruto.

Silence fell before the group as Naruto and Sasuke stood up to get more food before Sakura decided to ask a question again.

"So….you guys never answered my question from before, who is the person in that torn picture?"

Immediately after this Inari stood up and walked away slamming the door as he left the room. Tsunami suddenly had a rather worried look on his face as Tazuna look a bit grim before he answered.

"He….was Inari's father….a person who the village once called a hero…Inari looked up to him and loved his father….but everything changed…when Gatou came…"

A somber look appeared on the faces of Team 7 as they realized where exactly this story was going. Naruto then suddenly balled his fist before he stood up and began heading outside.

"Naruto…where are you going?" Asked Sakura.

"If you're thinking of training again, you probably shouldn't. You've already released a lot of Chakra, anymore and it could be bad for your health," Kakashi warned.

Naruto ignored their words as he slowly made his way outside.

"I'm going to prove it….I'm going to show Inari that we're….the final hope!"

* * *

"You're going to catch a cold if you sleep out here."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and focused his vision as a rather pretty girl suddenly came into his view.

"Wuh…who're you?"

"Haha, just someone looking for certain plants and herbs."

"Oh ok! Let me help you then!"

With that, Naruto and this mysterious individual began scouring the floor looking for various plants and vegetation.

"Man, you sure work early Lady."

"Haha, I suppose I do, what're you doing here?"

"Oh me? I'm training!"

"Training…oh that headband! Are you a ninja?"

"Oh, why is that?"

"I want to become stronger…so I can make my dream come true and prove something."

The girl suddenly began chuckling and Naruto felt a little peeved as he now thought she was looking down at him.

"What're you laughing at?"

"Oh nothing hehe, do you have someone important to you? When someone has something important to them to protect…that is when they can find their true strength."

Naruto thought for a moment before he called the story of Inari…Iruka protecting him…as well as Kakashi's words in his fight with Zabuza and then a wide smile suddenly broke out on Naruto's face.

"Haha…yeah, I understand what you're talking about!"

The mysterious girl suddenly stood up and with a small smile on her face, began to turn around and take her leave.

"You'll be strong someday, I'm sure of it. Let us meet again in the field of flowers…by the way…I'm a boy."

As he walked away from the jaw-dropped Naruto he passed by Sasuke who took a glance at him and his eyes narrowed before he walked up to Naruto.

* * *

"There is something I've been meaning to ask you…after I told you the nature of the mission…how come you didn't abandon us?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment before he continued to do his one finger pushups with Tazuna and Sakura sitting on his back.

"To abandon your duty means to throw your courage to the wind….and below the courageous…there lies nothing. These were the words of our previous leader which lead to the Leaf's way of the Ninja. We are not motivated through money alone when along the line of duty."

_It appears my full strength is returning to me…_

At that thought, Naruto and Sasuke appeared at the doorway both tired and dirty but supporting each other to stand.

"Hehehe…both of us…," Naruto began.

"…finally made it to the top," finished Sasuke

With this, Kakashi smiled at them and made and announced, "Starting tomorrow, you two will join Sakura in protecting Tazuna at the bridge."

At this Tazuna let out a hearty laugh and talked about the process of the building.

"Hehe, I'm almost worn out from today's work, but at any rate, the bridge is nearly complete."

Team 7 and the family then all sat down at the dinner table awaiting the meal before Naruto noticed something. Inari seemed to suddenly have a small tear in the corner of his eyes and a rather sour look.

"…What's the matter Inari?"

Inari then slammed his hands on his desk before standing up and glaring right at Naruto.

"Why do you guys try so hard? No matter how much you train you're still no match for Gatou's men! No matter what you say or how hard you work, when facing the strong the weak will only end up getting killed!"

"You said it yourself, only the week get killed. Whatever kid, I'm not like you."

This seemed to only enrage Inari as tears began to flow from his eyes and he raised his volume decibel.

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy! I'm different from you, you're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life can be!"

At this, Naruto suddenly perked up as he felt irritation rise within him.

"What….and you think you know a single thing about me? Don't you dare preach to me about hardship and not know about other people's background when you're doing the same damn exact thing. Unlike you, I've made my peace and have seized my life with my own hands. Feel free to keep on sitting around and crying…you big brat."

The rest of the group sat around rather awkwardly and uncomfortable as Naruto scoffed and made his way outside. Sakura really wanted to yell at him for speaking like that towards a child…but deep down…she knew.

* * *

Kakashi walked outside and sat down next to Inari who sat by the pier looking out at the sea.

"May I join you?"

This caught Inari's attention as he slowly nodded and continued looking out towards the sea. Kakashi was silent for a moment before he began to speak.

"You know…Naruto didn't mean any harm with what he said. Tazuna told us about your dad. Much like you, Naruto has never known his father…or either of his parents to be honest. He grew up without a single past and probably had a much rougher past than you. But you know, despite that, I've never once seen him cry or complain. He's always giving it his all trying to get people to acknowledge him as he achieves his dream. He's probably sick and tired of crying. He truly understand what it means to be strong just like your father…in fact, he may understand how you feel better than all of us."

Inari was a little surprised at this revelation as he continued to look out at the waters in the night.

* * *

"It seems Naruto pushed himself a bit too far…I don't think he'll be able to move today. Please look after him Tsunami."

With that, Team 7 minus Naruto moved out towards the bridge along with Tazuna

* * *

They suddenly found themselves in front of a multitude of bodies left unconscious on the bridge as they tried to figure out what was going on here? Tazuna quickly rushed up to the nearest individual.

"What happened here?"

"A… d-demon…"

Those were the only words he could muster before he slipped into unconsciousness. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he continued to gather his thoughts.

_Could he be….._

* * *

Naruto groaned as his body felt rather heavy. He tried to rest but a seeming loud voice was calling out to him.

**Naruto….Naruto…UZUMAKI NARUTO!**

Naruto opened his eyes and realized he was lying in a rather weird sewer like place…and he looked around and then noticed Chimera was flying around him in circles growling at him.

"Ugh…what do you want Chimera?"

Without answering him, Chimera suddenly flew right at Naruto with his mouth wide open and roared loudly. Naruto screamed as he put his hands up but suddenly a red barrier circled around him and blocked Chimera before suddenly dissipating and being seemingly devoured by Chimera.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Naruto woke up with a yell as he then realized he was finally back in Tazuna's house.

_Huh…what was that?..What's going on?...I guess Chimera was feeling pretty hungry seeing as how my energy has been low lately.._

Then suddenly, a different sort of feral voice rang in his head which immediately startled him.

_**Brat….that creature already warned you what would happen if you could not provide him with energy….you best be careful what you do with yourself…..dumbass**_

Before Naruto could even think about that 2nd voice, he heard a cry that sounded like Inari from outside which caused him to quickly gather his belongings and he dashed outside to see Inari running at 2 thugs that had capture Tsunami.

* * *

A huge mist suddenly found itself surrounding Team 7 as they all made a circular formation to protect Tazuna. A familiar voice suddenly called out from the mist grabbing Team 7's attention.

"Long time no see Kakashi…I see you're still with those brats. Look at them shaking still….poor kids."

Then suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by water clones of Zabuza. A smirk found its way onto Sakura and Sasuke's face as they both answered Zabuza.

"I'm shaking…with excitement!"

The same strange smiling eye appeared on Kakashi as he slowly nodded towards his team.

"Go ahead you two…"

In a flash Sakura and Sasuke suddenly became blurs as they dashed between the clones and reappeared in their original spots with a kunai knife in their hands before all the clones vanished back into puddles of water.

"Well well well, it seems the brats have grown. Perhaps a rival has appeared for you…Haku."

Zabuza and Haku then appeared from the mist as they now had a standoff with Team 7 and Tazuna. Sasuke stepped forward and put his arm in front of Sakura as he looked back at her.

"Let me fight the masked one, you protect Tazuna. Tricking us with that hunter act….I got a bone to pick with him."

With that note, Sasuke dashed forward forward with a kunai knife in hand and Haku quickly lept back and kicked water up with his foot. Sasuke immediately swatted the water away and noticed that Haku was still spinning and used the momentum to do a roundhouse kick so Sasuke immediately lifted his arm and guarded himself. Haku then once again lightly jumped back to give himself room before he disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind Sasuke who quickly leapt to his side and spun in the air spinning and clashed his kunai with a senbon needle in Haku's hand. Sasuke grunted as he matched Haku for speed and force before Haku lifted his head a bit and spoke.

"I don't want to have to kill you…but you won't stand down…will you?"

At this, Sasuke smirked and laughed a bit, "Hah, don't be foolish."

"I see….but you won't be able to match my speed next time…for I have gained two advantages. One being the water on the ground…the 2nd is that I have occupied one of your hands. From here on out, you will only be able to run from my attacks."

With that, Haku suddenly began making a flurry of hand seals with one hand which caused the entirety of Team 7 to be surprised.

**Secret Technique: Flying Water Needles!**

Haku suddenly began stamping on the floor which caused the water around him and Sasuke to rise up and form the shapes of needles before aiming themselves directly at Sasuke. Sasuke immediately closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

_Remember the training…focus my energy to the feet!_

A moment before the needles could puncture him Sasuke opened his eyes and blurred out of sight to Haku who lept back gazing in all directions trying to locate Sasuke.

"Run from your attacks? I'm sorry, you won't be given the luxury of attacking me!"

This surprised Haku as he finally realized that Sasuke was behind him so Haku quickly turned around and began lifting his guard to block Sasuke's incoming kuani swipe but Sasuke released the kunai from his hand forcing Haku to duck which let Sasuke immediately throw out a roundhouse kick sending Haku back. Sasuke then stood back up and reached for something in his pocket.

"You might be fast hunter boy, but there's something you should know…..the trump card always comes to me."

With that, Sasuke took out the Lost Driver and the Joker memory and put the Driver around his waist before pressing the Joker memory.

**JOKER!**

Sasuke pointed his finger at Haku before saying, "Henshin!"

Sasuke took the form of Joker before dashing at Haku and engaging in a flurry of punches. Haku quickly back pedaled and kept his guard up, but Sasuke's speed immediately became too much for him as one of Sasuke's punches broke through his guard and sent Haku back towards Zabuza but Haku quickly flipped over and made similar seals with his hands before an even larger amount of water began to raise from the ground forming rather large and more spear-like shape aiming at Sasuke before flying directly at him. Sasuke immediately leapt into the air much like before and then Haku appeared behind him.

"Do not underestimate my speed…"

**Kamen Ride: Kiva**

**Form Ride: Basshaa Magnum**

Before Haku could attempt to strike, green energy streaked across the air and struck him causing him to collide with the ground next to Zabuza. Haku looked towards the source of that hit as he slowly got back on his feet and noticed that where Sakura stood before there now was someone in a Light Green armor with shoulder guards slightly resembling fish fins. The helmet almost resembled a bat as there were yellow arching eyes outlined in red. In this figure's hand was a small looking device that almost looked like the head of a hose. Sasuke looked right at Haku and smirked.

"Don't underestimate my comrades."

Kakashi looked at Zabuza and shared similar sentiments as Sasuke.

"I can't have you belitting my team by calling them brats. After all, you've seen what they're capable of doing….they are most definitely worthy of the title Ninja."

At this, Zabuza scoffed before turning to Haku.

"You realize, at this rate we're going to be driven back."

Haku began making another set of seals before he answered, "Yes…we can't have that now can we?"

**Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Mirrors**

The water rose up around Sasuke again, but now they seemingly formed into mirrors made of ice. Haku then slowly walked into one mirror before he appeared in all the mirrors to the eyes of Sasuke. Kakashi began to try and make his way over to Sasuke to help but then Zabuza appeared in front of him and put his hands on the hilt of his cleaver.

"Hey…your opponent is me. If you try and get by me…I'll kill those two."

Sasuke's voice could be head as he screamed in response to him suddenly feel needles coming in all directions to his body. Kakashi tensed as his thoughts whirred onto the next best option he could cover to try and solve the dilemma. Sakura's voice immediately broke out and caught both Kakashi and Zabuza's attention.

"I can try to help Sasuke a little, Kakashi-sensei. In this form of Kiva my ace becomes long distance combat, it also augments my senses much like the Pegasus form of Kuuga. Using this I can catch sight on Haku and zero in on a weakness or flaw."

Hearing this, Zabuza began to laugh at such a notion.

"Hahahaha…such an interesting form you have…perhaps such a form would be useful to you and frightening for us if this technique was a normal skill…but it will have no visible weakness to you…nor the Sharingan."

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what Zabuza was eluding towards, "…Kekkai Genkai."

Sakura's eyes widened as she heard the revelation that this technique was one passed down through generations of ones clan….but she had to try! She focused her attention towards the mirrors and tried to break down the small skirmish inside to its fundamentals and tried to read the movements of Haku….before she noticed something.

_I can't….quite see him. It's like he's closed his mind…._

Out of frustration, Sakura immediately grabbed a kunai knife and tossed it in what seemed to be the direction of Haku. Haku suddenly peeked his head out of the mirror which caused Sakura and Sasuke to be rather surprised. Out of the mist, a familiar golden and whip-like tongue appeared and lashed across Haku's mask causing it to crack a little and Haku to fly out of the mirrors. Naruto then slowly appeared out of the air in Beast form using the Chameleo mantle to camouflage himself.

"The Ancient Magician…has arrived!"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes and spoke, "Bah, so that loudmouth blonde has finally arrived."

Naruto immediately stood upward and took out his dice saber before pointing it towards Zabuza.

"The star always appears at the last minute to stop the crisis before doing away with the bad guys. Here I am to save the day!"

Sasuke grumbled and continued to think as he was on his knees in the middle of the mirrors. Although the armor of Joker was protecting him from serious damage, he couldn't continue on like this.

_I don't get this technique…if it were just clones, what's the point of the mirrors? There has to be a reason they exist….whatever, with me on the inside and Naruto on the outside we might be able to-_

"Yo, Sasuke, I came in here to save you!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he was shaken out of his thoughts by Naruto joining him inside the mirrors.

"You..you…YOU FUCKING MORON. ARE YOU SHITTING ME? YOU CHOSE TO COME IN HERE WITH ME? YOU WERE CAMOUFLAGED RIGHT? YOU SAW HOW DANGEROUS THIS TECHNIQUE IS! WHY DIDN'T YOU USE YOUR WHIP TO RESTRAIN HAKU AFTER HITTING HIM? OR TURNING INVISIBLE AGAIN AND HELPING KAKASHI-SENSEI! OR YOU COULD HAVE EVEN PULLED ME OUT OF THE MIRRORS! WHAT THE HELL? YOU LITERALLY CHOSE THE WORST OPTION!"

Naruto sulked a bit at the lack of thanks before he realized Sasuke was indeed right.

"Oh…hehe…I guess you have a point."

"Oh fuck it, I don't care anymore."

"If you two could stop bickering…"

Sasuke and Naruto quickly looked forward and noticed Haku re-entering the mirrors.

"The reflection of these mirrors allows me to move at high speeds between each mirror. From my point of view…you are simply moving in slow motion. I don't want to have to kill you…nor have you want to kill me. But becoming a shinobi is a rough life. Much like you, I too have dreams. This battle will decide whose desire to reach their goals is greater; mine or yours. I want to protect something dear to me…to work for that person for that goal…I can become what a ninja is meant to do…and end your life."

Upon hearing this, Sakura felt frustration as she yelled out towards her teammates.

"Don't let him intimidate you. Defeat him and reach your own dreams!"

At her words, Kakashi narrowed his eyes and turned to look back at Sakura.

"No, don't egg them on Sakura. Even if they could defeat that technique….they cannot defeat that boy."

After seeing the confusion on Sakura's face, Zabuza began to laugh again as he too realized the truth behind Kakashi's words.

"True shinobi cannot be born from a village as peaceful as yours…for you cannot gain the most important experience at all. The experience of killing. Those brats lack the ability to destroy their hearts and take another individuals life even if they are an enemy"

Sakura immediately glared right back at Zabuza and spoke, "What do you know? You have no idea the trials we had to undertake…not to become a ninja…but to receive these powers that we have. Sasuke has looked at death and massacre right in the eye and found the will to fight through that madness whereas Naruto faces the possibility of his mortality every day. They may not wish for it…but they too understand what life they have accepted."

"We shall see….brat….we shall see…."

Kakashi immediately began to push his headband upward to reveal his Sharingan once more in attempt to end the fight as quickly as possible. Noticing this, Zabuza scoffed.

"Hah….the Sharingan…is that all you can do? Let me tell you something….an individual's ultimate technique is not meant to be used repeatedly on a single individual…..for I have seen through your technique."

With that Zabuza seemed to disappear into the mist causing a slight feeling of panic within Kakashi. Kakashi began to think about all the options that Zabuza would think to cover before sudden realization hit him. He quickly turned around and dashed towards Sakura and Tazuna. As he finally reached them, he noticed Zabuza closing in from close proximity with his cleaver drawn attempting to catch them all within it. Kakashi brought his arm and kunai up for a hasty block before a purple blur found itself between him and Zabuza blocking the massive cleaver with a rather large sword.

"We may be young…you might call us brats, but in the words you said yourself; we are not easy prey."

Kakashi and both Zabuza were surprised to see Sakura in Kuuga's Titan form blocking Zabuza's slash attempt. Zabuza couldn't quite find the words to display his shock.

"What…but in this mist…how?"

"You might have the advantage in nearly all aspects, but you are underestimate my skill and this is your shortcoming. I told you already that the form of Basshaa augments my senses and allows me to zero in on my opponent and analyze their movement and weaknesses. Although I couldn't quite catch a flaw in your movement, you stupidly stood around long enough for me to analyze you and I knew immediately where you were the entire time and what you were aiming for."

Zabuza recomposed himself before he stood back and began to fade in the mist again.

"Hmph, you might be right about that, but you won't get any second chances after this Kakashi."

Sakura grit her teeth but knew that Zabuza was right, after getting that beat on him and blocking his attack, she couldn't get the time to change forms and analyze him again to try and track him in the mist. But the more she thought about it, the less anxious she got about Naruto and Sasuke's situation.

"Naruto and Sasuke won't be defeated by that guy so easily!"

Kakashi agreed, "I believe in their strength and determination as well, that hunter boy isn't the only one with a Kekkai Genkai, Sasuke is a descendant of one of the most outstanding clans within the Leaf village."

At this revelation, Zabuza opened his eyes a bit

"You mean to say…"

"Yes, his full name is Uchiha Sasuke. A genius ninja with a Kekkai Genkai running through his veins as well."

"Hmph, an off spring of that tragic clan huh? At any rate, the same goes for Haku…none of have defeated that technique and I doubt that will change today."

"It matters not Zabuza for I intend to finish this fight soon. You seem to be under the impression I only managed to survive in this world because of the Sharingan…but you are mistaken. I was once part of the Ninja Assassination Corps; ANBU, I did not achieve so by simply copying. Allow me to show you what kind of Ninja I once was."

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were weakly moving around trying to avoid getting hit in the vitals by needles.

"We need a plan Sasuke…we can't keep doing this forever, it's slowly going to sap our strength."

"I know that!...My eyes are slowly getting adjusted to his movement, if we can last longer I'm sure his strength will deplete as well, there's no way he can maintain a technique like this for so long."

Naruto attempted to turn again before Sasuke dashed into him and pushed him out of the way before jumping.

As Haku flew by, he could not help but express his amazement.

"You move quite well, but this time, I shall stop you."

Despite the confidence in his words, Haku was feeling a bit uneasy about the situation.

_He's slowly adjusting and dodging things at the last second…he is beginning to catch onto this speed_

As he dashed forward one more time towards Sasuke attempting to turn him into a pincushion. Sasuke immediately narrowed his gaze and tried to focus his vision.

_He's coming…calm down..concentrate…see through the technique!_

With that, he immediately dashed to his side and quickly grabbed Naruto along the way and dodged incoming needles. As Sasuke turned around, Haku noticed something lightly glowing and imprinted within the red eyes of the Joker form.

_The Sharingan!?_

"I see…you too come from a family with a Kekkai Genkai…but it matters not. Even if your eyes are beginning to track me…I will still end this."

With that statement, Sasuke's eyes widened before he realized who Haku's target was and quickly lept in that direction as well.

_Please….let me make it in time_

* * *

Naruto's eyes slowly opened as he tried to focus his gaze. He noticed Sasuke standing in front of him and Haku on the floor.

"Hah! Sasuke you did it!"

His cheering was cut short before he noticed that Sasuke was no longer in the form of Joker and that his aura was fading and a large amount of needles were protruding from him. He was at a loss for words as Sasuke slowly turned his head back to him.

"Geeze…all you do is get in the way…what's with that look moron?"

As Sasuke fell backwards and landed on Naruto's hands he coughed up some blood and noticed the shocked look still on Naruto's face.

"Relax…idiot…I'm not going to die…hopefully. I got one more trump card up my sleeve right now that might just get us out of this mess. But you have to promise me something."

Naruto gulped before he nodded.

"I don't know what's going to happen myself…but…it if becomes too much, you have to stop me…no matter the cost. Got it?'

"What could you possi-"

"JUST PROMISE ME….no matter the cost….you have to contain me."

Naruto slowly nodded and Sasuke let a weak smile reach his face.

"Good…look in my pouch for a Gaia Memory with the letter F, it should be grey. Then press the button and insert it into my driver…then…get away from me."

_**SASUKE NO! You can't resort to that, do you remember what happened last time? You'll lose control…your body might be torn apart in this state!**_

_So what Dragon….if I don't rely on something like this I'm going to die anyways….0.1% chance is better than 0%..._

Naruto quickly reached into the bag and found the memory Sasuke described and pressed the button.

**FANG!**

Sasuke suddenly was enveloped in a bright white aura before being encased in a form much like Joker but instead of black, the armor was white with jagged edges all along it giving it a rather demonic look. Before Naruto could ask Sasuke anything, a wave of energy was expelled causing Naruto fly back a bit before Sasuke stood up and let out a bloodthirsty roar.

* * *

**RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR**

At this, Kakashi's eyes widened…what was going on? Sakura paused for a bit before she spoke.

"That…sounds…kind of like…Sasuke…"

**TBC**

**Sorry for such a long wait…I started class and I also was very lazy…..so hopefully this long chapter makes up for it! I know I cut some scenes and rearranged some stuff but most of it is because I assume most people reading Naruto fanfiction sort of have this arc memorized backwards and forwards so I adjusted the scenes to make it easier on me. Plus, I don't think they're big plot points anyways. I feel like both Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are developing in the same direction and have the same personality…do you guys think so too? Anyhow, that's it for now. Shoot me a review to let me know how I'm doing!**


	7. Finding your Strength

**Whew, I have returned and I'm determined to not let this story die despite the fact I'm busy because of University life. Anyhow, I haven't decided exactly when I will deviate from the core plot points as the original (it will have to happen eventually as I'm not caught up with the story at all hahaha) but for now. I'm still revisiting arcs and essentially doing them over with slight variation due to the way I've portrayed the characters. (I honestly was never TOO fond of how the characters acted). I'm probably not going to add any romance at all because I'm not particularly good at writing it in…..and I've always found it to be kind of bothersome even in the original story haha. Enough of that, let's do this!**

Chapter 7:

**Finding your strength**

Naruto sat up and looked at Sasuke who seemed to be crouching after attaining this new form. Sasuke slowly looked up and looked at Naruto which caused Naruto to immediately freeze up in fear.

…_.What a bloodthirsty aura…..this isn't quite like Zabuza with the killing intent….it's almost like staring at the eyes of a fierce animal…  
_

Sasuke immediately snapped his attention forward before dashing up and punching the mirror with Haku's image in it causing the mirror to shatter. Sasuke quickly turned around after and reached out with his arm and grabbed Haku out of seemingly thin air. Haku's eyes widened behind as mask at the ridiculousness of what happened.

_What is going on? He shouldn't have been able to catch me…..much less see me so easily. What happened to this boy? He looked like he was on the verge of death…He's become so much stronger….and his aura…._

Sasuke quickly threw Haku to the side causing Haku to fall and slide a bit before he reached for his side and threw some needles at Sasuke out of desperation. A small white curved blade appeared on the outside of Sasuke's wrist and he swung his arm and knocked the needles off to the side before dashing towards Haku and quickly kicking him out of the mirror technique. With that, Sasuke jumped forward and swung his arm with the wrist blade again sending Haku upward and crashing down and his mask slowly began to crumble.

_Zabuza….I have reached my limit…sorry…but this boy…._

As the mirrors began to dissolve and break apart, Naruto's vision became unobstructed as he noticed Sasuke slowly moving up towards Haku who was already on his knees. As the mask broke apart Naruto realized that Haku was the boy from the forest he saw earlier. He remembered his promise to his teammate and quickly called out to him.

"SASUKE! HE'S BEEN DEFEATED! STOP!"

Despite the cries of his teammate, Sasuke slowly walked up and lifted both his arms up; both sporting wrist blade; clearly determined to finish the job. Naruto quickly got to his feet and used the whip from his mantle which fired outward which circled around Sasuke and became taught; effectively restraining him. Despite his best efforts to pull Sasuke back, Sasuke struggled and then broke out of his constraints before finally turning his attention to Naruto. Naruto was beginning to get a bit worried at this point as he didn't feel particularly confident that he could take Sasuke on in whatever the hell this form was. But as he thought on his promise to Sasuke, he had newfound resolve. He quickly rolled to his side and grabbed his saber from the ground before dashing forward and swinging at Sasuke. Sasuke quickly blocked with the wrist blade from his right arm before doing a horizontal slice with his left. Naruto quickly leapt backwards and attempted a kick but Sasuke caught his foot with both hands and threw Naruto off to the side. Naruto got up and growled before he spun the dial on his saber and inserted his ring in.

**THREE! CHAMELEO! SABER STRIKE!**

_Ugh…not great…but I'll take it_

Naruto quickly swung his blade and released the attack which had the three energy forms flying at Sasuke. The first one collided and caused a small explosion that dazed Sasuke but he immediately recovered and swung his blade at the second which caused it to disperse. Sasuke then stomped the remaining one causing it to also fade away. Naruto began sweating bullets as he was running out of options and he could definitely feel the fatigue slowly creeping up on him. On the other hand, Sasuke looked like he was hardly breaking a sweat.

_Chimera! Tell me the ring that will give me the power to hold Sasuke back! The two I have access to aren't going to get the job done!_

_**…..You are not ready to utilize the power of the ring that will grant you the strength to do this. Not only will you be overwhelmed in your weakened state, I doubt you have the discipline and power to handle the ring that grants you access to my raw strength.**_

_I don't care about that right now. I told Sasuke I wouldn't let this get out of hand and I intend to see that promise through. If you don't tell me which one it is I'm going to just try the remaining ones until I find one that will suit my needs._

_**Fool! Are you not listening at all? In your current state, attempting to wild such power will be incredibly dangerous!**_

_Hmph, that might be true. But danger also brings…opportunity, and a chance to succeed._

_**…Hahaha…alright mortal. Look for the ring with the buffalo imprint on it…..you bring me great amusement…..**_

Naruto opened his eyes and quickly looked through his remaining rings before he found the one Chimera was talking about. He focused for a bit before the ring became enveloped in crimson red energy and the stone melted off. He inserted the ring into the driver a red circle appeared on his side and passed through him.  
**BUFFA! GO! BU-BU-BU-BUFFA!**

A crimson mantle appeared over his right arm and the head of a buffalo was attached to his right shoulder. Instantly, Naruto felt a surge of strength flow through him and he readied himself as Sasuke slowly approached him. Naruto quickly ran forward and swung a bunch at Sasuke proved too quick as he stepped back and lifted both his arms up to guard his upper body. Naruto followed through with a series of mix-ups between punches and kicks but all proved futile in the face of Sasuke's guard. In one swift motion, Sasuke stepped back and delivered a roundhouse kick which connected with Naruto's side sending him sliding back a few feet. As Naruto slowly got up, he was surprised to note that the kick had not hurt nearly as bad as the strikes previously.

_**That mantle augments your raw strength and endurance the most, however, I'm sure you've noticed the lack of speed in your attacks compared to your other mantles. Think of it this way, if Dolphi increases mostly your speed and finesse, Buffa is the other side of the spectrum.**_

With this new knowledge in mind Naruto knew how he had to approach the situation. Given the fact he was clearly outclassed in speed, he had to bait Sasuke into certain strike areas so that he could anticipate and counterattack with his, hopefully, superior strength. Naruto dashed forward towards Sasuke and began to swing his right fist to strike but as Sasuke brought his guard up to his face, Naruto quickly halted his attack and used the swinging momentum to strike with a right roundhouse kick which struck Sasuke in his side and caused him to drop to one knee. Sasuke growled as he swung both arms with blades ready to strike back but Naruto quickly caught both of Sasuke's fists in mid motion. Naruto was surprised at the ease in which he could overpower Sasuke as he quickly threw Sasuke to the side. Naruto slowly felt confidence flow through him as he realized he could challenge this weird demonic form that Sasuke had but then a pang of pain struck him through his chest and caused him to fall down to one knee.

_**I warned you…..your body is in no condition to utilize this form of my power. You won't be able to maintain this for much longer, I suggest you find a way to finish this quickly or it's over for you. Although you are in a bit of luck, that boy you call your teammate seems to not quite be able to control his power. A little more pressure applied and he'll probably knock out and lose it all**_

Sasuke had clearly begun to realize that Naruto wasn't particularly fast in this state and started doing weaker, but faster strikes all around Naruto in attempt to seal off his strength. Naruto barely held onto his guard as punches and kicks seemed to be coming from all directions. An idea drifted into his head as he was slowly getting pushed back.

_Ugh…I don't have many options left…I hope this works_

Naruto gathered a large amount of his chakra into his round fist before he brought it down and slammed at the ground releasing circular crimson tremors outward. The energy released shook Sasuke off his balance and sent him tumbling backwards as the massive force struck him glanced around a bit before he spotted his saber off to the side and an idea quickly popped in his head. He dashed over and picked it up in mid roll and quickly spotted Sasuke getting up. He spun the dial then closed his eyes with his fingers crossed in his head.

_Please….let this work_

**SIX! BUFFA! SABER STRIKE!**

"YES!"

Naruto then swung the saber and released a herd of 6 yellow transparent buffalos as they each collided with Sasuke and knocked him down kicking up dust in the air as each collision yielded a sizeable explosion. The mantle on Naruto's shoulder began to fade away as he fell to his knees and began panting.

_Dear god please let that work….I'm almost done for…_

As the dust began to clear, Naruto noticed something bouncing along the ground and realized it was the Fang memory. He then saw Sasuke unconscious on the ground and felt joy spread through him. He had done it! A voice behind him then caught his attention.

"Why….why did you stop your comrade from finishing me? I am the enemy am I not? I nearly killed both of you."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he realized he was not sure himself why he had stopped Sasuke. Sasuke had told him to not let him get out of hand, but on further thought, he wasn't even sure what that really meant.

"There are people who make this mistake. Not killing their enemy because of pity; letting them leave with just their lives….do you not understand? My purpose is gone with this defeat….all I am left with is the pain…of simply living."

"What…are you trying to say?"

"Zabuza has no use for one as weak as I….my purpose has ceased. Hatred of my bloodline tore my family apart in the ruthless era of the bloody mist…after that…I didn't understand my purpose for living anymore. I came to a very painful realization….I was left in a world….that didn't want me. Zabuza didn't care for any of that when he took me in….it made me….so happy."

Naruto gulped as he slowly began to realize something; Haku suffered similar pain much as him. He saw Zabuza in the same way that Naruto himself viewed Iruka.  
_  
_"I have one last request….please end my life."_  
_

* * *

Kakashi tried not to lose focus as he heard the sound of clashing out in the mist as well as constant yelling.

_I need to focus at the task at hand…..I'm sure Naruto and Sasuke are all right_

Kakashi quickly went through a flurry of seals as he heard Zabuza's voice call out to him from the mist.

"No matter what you do, it is useless. You have no idea where I am whereas I have perfect understanding of where you are. You are completely trapped in my tech-"

Before Zabuza could finish his sentence, a myriad of dogs emerged from around him before sinking their teeth into his flesh and holding him down. As the dogs held Zabuza down, the mist slowly began to clear up and Kakashi made his way over to Zabuza.

"This is what your overconfidence has led to. My technique was specifically made to track down opponents. You thought I was weak and unprepared for your tactics, but the true reason I seemed careless and allowed you to spill small amounts of my blood was so that my scent would cover you."

With that, Kakashi went through another set of hand seals before his left hand gripped his right wrist. A bluish erratic circle began sparking around Kakashi before chakra seemed to concentrate and explode in his hand. With the Raikiri formed in his hand, Kakashi stared down Zabuza one more time.

"Your ambition was too dark…and too great. Not only did your failed assassination on the Mizukage reach the ears of the Leaf, but your bloody path has led to the sacrifice and death of many other noble ambitions such as one of Tazuna. Surrender now Zabuza…or face your future of death."

At this, Zabuza simply scoffed to which Kakashi shrugged before he began dashing in Zabuza's direction.

* * *

"…Kill you? I don't understand! Is being strong the only reason for you to be alive?! You could've gained acceptance through something else…other than fighting and killing."

Naruto hung his head as his body was filled with confused emotions. Despite being the enemy…he couldn't find it in himself to want to kill this boy. A grim look appeared on Haku's face as he continued to stare down at Naruto

"The day I met you in the forest….I thought you were like me. Surely you can understand? My apologies for having my blood on your hands in such a manner… with my final words, I urge you to reach for your own skies Uzumaki-San"

Naruto gulped and nodded before he gripped his saber and dashed forward. He shut his eyes and swung his blade at Haku's neck before Haku's arms quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist. Panic quickly spread through Naruto as he now didn't understand what was going on.

_What?! Was that a trick?_

**"**Sorry Naruto! I just realized that I can't quite die yet, there's one last task I must fulfill!"

* * *

A huge explosion erupted from the bridge which had Sakura and Tazuna holding their arms up to cover the dust and debris heading their way. As Sakura finally put her hand down, she gasped at what she saw.

Haku was standing between Kakashi and Zabuza with Kakashi's arm through him. At this, Zabuza slowly chuckled which turned into full out laughter.

"I'm tired of your bullshit you copycat…..you said my future was death but you were wrong again!"

Zabuza continued his maniacal laugher as he slowly reached for his massive blade on his back.

"I really did find treasure in that gutter! To think that he would provide me with this chance to succeed!"

Zabuza did a wide horizontal swing with his blade but Kakashi quickly used his other arm to grip Haku's shoulder and leapt backwards.

"Hmph….you managed to escape because poor Haku had already died…how lucky."

Upon hearing this, Naruto grit his teeth and tried to dig deep down and find any chakra left to act as a medium for his rising anger.

_That jerk!...Haku really cared for him…and this is how he speaks of him?!_

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi had spotted Naruto's slow movement and quickly called out to him.

"Stay still Naruto….this is my fight."

Naruto slowly nodded as he watched Kakashi and Zabuza begin to advance on each other.

"Naruto?! You're okay! Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto slowly turned his head and saw Sakura waving at him. As he opened his mouth to try and answer her, a huge wave of fatigue hit him and his legs gave out which resulted in him collapsing. He heard Sakura scream his name and a large amount of footsteps but he couldn't find the energy to look up, much less answer. It was taking all of his resolve to stay awake as he watched Kakashi and Zabuza do battle.

Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza and readied up to kunai knife in his arms as Zabuza began a backwards swing with his massive cleaver. Kakashi quickly learned back and ducked under the massive sword as he stabbed the 2 kunai through the upper arms of Zabuza.

"Now both arms are useless, no seals, no katas, no techniques."

Zabuza scoffed and spat at the ground until a new voice caught his attention.

"Well well well….is the devil about to be exorcised?

Zabuza turned his head to the newcomer's voice and saw Gatou standing with a large number of bandits to his back.

"What…are you doing here?"

"Haha…times are a-changing Zabuza….well actually, to be fair, this was my plan to start with. Hiring ninja to do bloody assassination work is always so darn expensive. They also tend to have many friends that get rather unpleasant if you betray them. The great thing about hiring runaways like you is that after you tire yourself out fighting each other, even common numbers can overwhelm you and you seem to lack any companions that would be rather bitter at your death!"

Zabuza grumbled a bit before he stood up straight, no longer in any sort of stance.

"This fight is over Kakashi. I now lack a reason to kill Tazuna; I have no reason to fight you any longer."

Kakashi paused for a moment before he also relaxed and pulled his headband over his Sharingan.

"Ah….I suppose you're right."

Gatou then noticed the body of Haku and slowly walked up to it and began to kick at it for a bit.

"Bah, this one of yours was also a pain to deal with Zabuza."

This action suddenly filled Naruto with rage as he managed to get back on one knee and began shouting.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

This got the attention of Gatou and his rather large mob to which then Naruto turned his attention to Zabuza.

"SAY SOMETHING!...Weren't you two….partners?!"

"Shut up brat…Haku is already dead. What's the point?!"

"You two were travelling together for so long….didn't you feel…ANYTHING at ALL for him?"

"This is real life kid, I was used by Gatou much like how Haku was used for me. I don't know what weird twisted glorified view you have of Ninja's but this is the hard cold truth; we might be called shinobi, but we are only mere pawns and tools for those who lead. I brought Haku along with me because his blood was valuable. There are no regrets from me…"

"Do you….really mean that?"

"Stop Naruto! He's no longer our enemy, we have bigger problems to worry about…" Began Kakashi as before he was immediately cut off.

"NO! SHUT UP! HE'S STILL MY ENEMY!

Tears slowly began to form at the corners of Naruto's eyes as he remembered Haku's final words. He took another breath and began shouting once more.

"DO YOU REALLY FEEL NOTHING?!...He….he cared so much for you….he put your ambition over his life….HIS OWN LIFE! Do you really see him only as a tool? We might carry out the bidding of others…but…aren't we people too? He threw away his life and ambition for you….without a care for his own…and you really don't see him as anything more than just…a…a tool?"

Silence filled the air a bit as Zabuza turned his head to glance at Naruto which showed a small amount of tears at his eyes which surprised the Ancient Magician.

"Not…another word.."

With that, Zabuza took another breath and fully turned his back to Naruto.

"It pained him to have to fight you and your comrade…Haku was not only a tool for me…but one for you as well. His heart was simply not cut out for what we had to do…This as my last battle is satisfying for me somehow. Maybe you're onto something kid, maybe we as shinobi aren't just mere emotionless pawns."

Zabuza then walked over to a kunai knife on the floor and bent over to grab the edge with his mouth. He then turned and glared right at Gatou before dashing at him through the crowd of bandits.

"Hehe…you wanted to turn on me Gatou? Well, let's you and I go down the path to HELL! You're fate was foretold in the mist the moment you betrayed me!"

A single head then flew out from the crowd as Zabuza finally collapsed from the stab wounds of the weapons embedded on his back.

_I'm so sorry Haku….I never did thank you for all you did….I guess this is where we part…_

* * *

_Ugh…everything feels so heavy…what happened?...Am I still alive?_

The world slowly came to view as Sasuke opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Sakura looking over him with a rather worried expression. As they made eye contact, Sakura quickly let out a large sigh of relief.

"Thank god! You had a pulse but it felt kind of weak, I was worried that you might not make it, but I guess you're okay! Wow! You're amazing Sasuke! I can't believe you managed to avoid getting attacked in critical areas!"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke's eyes widened a little as he began to connect the dots from what Haku said at the beginning of their scuffle.

_"I don't want to kill you…"_

_I see….he never planned to…even right from the start_

_**What a rare type of enemy…wouldn't you agree…Sasuke?**_

_Dragon! What happened to me after I used the memory?! Is my body okay?_

_**Hmph….you were lucky. I don't think you suffered any damage that eventual rest and traditional healing methods won't rid you of given enough time. As for what happened, I don't know either. It's not like I take control of you when you go berserk. Based on how tired your blonde magic friend is, I'd say it seems like he successfully stopped you from going on a rampage.**_

Upon hearing this, Sasuke slowly smiled as Sakura tried to help him on his feet. As Sakura noticed the rather large gathering mob of angry bandits she slowly handed Sasuke over to Tazuna and made her way over to Kakashi. Before Sakura could speak, an arrow landed between her and Gatou's men. She turned to look behind her and noticed Inari leading the villagers all wielding various weapons from spears to crossbows.

"Don't you guys dare take a step further or this village will stop you with everything they've got!"

Sakura smiled a little before she put her hand in front of Kakashi.

"Don't worry sensei, I haven't done much this battle so I'm still full on Chakra. They're just regular bandits, I can deal with this."

Kakashi nodded as Sakura assumed the form of Decade and then Kiva once more before inserting a new card into the Decadriver.

**FORM RIDE: DOGGA HAMMER**

The form of Kiva then turned a dark purple color before a massive hammer appeared before Sakura. Sakura slowly lifted it up over her shoulder before turning her attention to the bandits.

"It's…my stage now."

* * *

Team 7 stood in a clearing looking at two freshly dug graves. One had the cleaver of Zabuza before it and the other, the mask of Haku. Despite the solemn feeling, Sakura couldn't help but have a nagging though.

"Kakashi-Sensei….were those two right about claiming what it meant to be a ninja?"

Kakashi seemed to pause for a moment before looking upward and responding.

"A shinobi technically isn't supposed to pursue their own goal…in theory, the most important thing is becoming a valuable asset towards the village. I suppose that's no different in Konohagakure."

Naruto looked downward as he thought about Haku's and Zabuza's words and his own ambition to become Hokage. He couldn't help but voice his thoughts outloud.

"…That's what it means to be a true ninja?"

Sasuke ignored Naruto as he looked back at Kakashi with a rather apprehensive look.

"Do you believe that too, Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Well…each and every ninja has to live while dealing with such a concept…let me ask you three this then; why did you choose to become a ninja?"

Silence fell before Team 7 as they pondered the words of their master. Sure, it seemed kind of simple and easy at the time, but they had never really been directly asked such a question. Expectedly, Sasuke was the first to respond back.

"It's something that just happened to align up with my ambition. I'm searching for someone, and the best way to do so is to follow the path of a Shinobi and grow stronger. I became a ninja out of convenience."

Kakashi nodded at this answer and then looked towards Sakura who then seemed ready to speak.

"I guess….I'm a bit of an adventurer? I've read a lot of exploits by extraordinary adventurers and they seemed like fun despite the danger. I suppose you could say I'm a bit of a thrill seeker. Becoming a Ninja seemed like the most reasonable thing to follow after that conclusion. Both my parents were shinobi before me as well….I guess I sort of followed in suit."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at such an answer, but nodded anyway.  
_Hmmm…interesting, I did not expect such an answer from Sakura…_

"Well, how about you Naruto?"

Naruto seemed to still be wondering as he wasn't quite sure why he chose to be a Ninja. Sure he wanted to be Hokage for the respect and acknowledgement, but he slowly began to realize that this was just an added benefit and he could honestly gain recognition for many other things.

"I uh…..wanted to be Hokage…so I could finally gain recognition from people….so I guess technically I'm a ninja for…..helping the village and protecting people?"

Kakashi thought for a moment along Naruto's words and hesitation before he answered back.

"Naruto, that's what you do. I'm asking, why do you do it? Helping your village and protecting others is not anything special to a Ninja."

These words seemed to confuse Naruto even more as his confusion grew in his mind. Why did he actually choose the path of being a Shinobi?

"Well, don't think too hard over it Naruto. I asked simply out of curiosity. You guys can go rest now, we'll start heading back soon."

Everyone but Naruto slowly began to shuffle back towards Tazuna's house to rest for the night. Naruto eventually sat down and gazed at the graves of Haku and Zabuza as he continued to ponder their final words and Kakashi's question.

_**Are you thinking you made a mistake in choosing this path, Naruto? I felt your emotions as you tried to end that boy's life…there was not an ounce of want or malice in that strike. The saber would most definitely not have killed him. Is this what is troubling you?**_

_Sort of…I can't get over the fact that I couldn't bring myself to do it….everything was on the line for my comrades…and not even that could convince me to do it...if I'm truly to lead the village one day, I need to be able to overcome something like this and I'm not sure if I want to overcome such a barrier…to kill like that with no mercy. Did I make a mistake in choosing this path…?_

* * *

"Bye Naruto! I hope we'll see you again! Thank you for everything!"

Inari waved rapidly as he watched the retreating figures of Team 7 fade off into the distance

_Inari, what do you think we should name this bridge?_

…I want it to be named after those Ninja that came by and helped us Grandpa. Let's call it….The Final Hope!

**TBC**

Whew! Finally finished, I know after such a long time. I suddenly lost motivation for some reason and then randomly I woke up and had a fervor to write…so here it is!


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